The Scent Of Your Breath
by HaruluvRin
Summary: Alessandro is still prowling around, but he's not the only thing walking in the woods. Just because Victoria is gone, doesn't mean that danger isn't around. Will Bella Follow the Wolf Pack when she must choose between lover and friend?
1. The Phone Call

I felt like I had only been asleep for a few hours when I heard Edward whisper into my ear. "Rise and shine."

That was when I heard it, the phone ringing. Edward clicked it on and put the receiver to my ear. "Hello?"

"Bella? Is that you? You sound awful." The person said at the other end.

I took a look at the alarm clock next to the bed. "Its 1:30 in the morning, of course I sound awful. Who is this?"

"It's Shelbie, I'm sorry that I called so late, I just really need somewhere to stay." Shelbie mumbled.

"You're all the way across the state, how could you stay at my house?" My eyebrows furrowed with worry. It wasn't like Shelbie to sound sad, let alone would she try to mooch a stay at my house.

Edward looked at me with concern; he mouthed "who is it?" I mouthed "Shelbie" back to him. He gave a curt nod.

"I'm not in Kettle Falls anymore; I'm at the Seattle Airport. It's complicated, I just need a place to stay, alright?" her voice cracked with emotion, "I'm sorry I called."

"No, Shelbie, Wait! I'll call Edward and we'll pick you up. Okay, but it will take a while. It's going to be okay." I said good-bye and hung up.

Edward looked at me with concern and tilted his head to the side. "Is Shelbie okay? Why does she need a ride?"

"I think she ran away, she seems pretty tore up about it. We have to go get her." I stood up, went into the bathroom and got dressed. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and thought about Shelbie. Why would she run away from home? What was going on here?

I went back to my bedroom to find Edward waiting for me at the end of the bed, looking like an angel made of Alabaster stone. Be still, my heart.

"Go home and get your car. I'm going to wake Charlie up and tell him that one of our friends is in trouble that you and I are going to Seattle to pick her up." I kissed him lightly on the lips. "I'm worried. She doesn't act like this."

He kissed my cheek, his lips cool and soft. "I'm worried too." In an instant he was out the window.

I could hear Charlie snoring in his room, once I knocked on the door the snoring stopped and I could hear Charlie shuffling to the door. He opened the door in a t-shirt and boxers, scratching his head in confusion. "What do you need, Bells? Do you know what time it is?"

"Dad, one of my friends are in trouble, I called Edward, he's going to pick me up in a little bit. We're going to Seattle to pick her up at the air port."

"Honey, who's in trouble? What's going on?"

"It's Shelbie, that native girl that was here a few weeks ago. She lives on the other side of the state, but she took a plane here. She's not like that, she's in trouble and Edward and I are going to pick her up." I raised my hands palm up as a sign of desperation, Charlie did not comprehend.

"Maybe I should come with you guys; do her parents know she's gone?"

"I don't know," I heard the sound of gravel crunching under tires coming from outside. "That's Edward; I'll be back with Shelbie in a little bit." I bolted for the stairs.

"Be careful Bella, I want to talk to this Shelbie person when you get home."

Right when I was in the Volvo, Edward took off before I could even close the door. We road in silence for most of the way, thinking about Shelbie and wondering if she was okay.

I sighed and shook my head. "What would make her do this?" I whispered, mostly to myself, but Edward could hear anyway.

"I have a few ideas." Edward said, never taking his eyes off of the road, his grip tight on the steering wheel. He looked even more like an angel in the darkness of the night, the only light coming from the dials on the center console and the speedometer. He looked like a beautiful forlorn angel.

"You think it could be because of her Dad?"

"That, among other things." He said simply. This was how Edward acted when he was upset. Edward Cullen: Master of Short Sentences.

"What other things could there be?"

Edward sighed deeply. "She…she had problems with other people. A lot of people were jealous of her, for various reasons, she got picked on a lot. Maybe she just got fed up with it and left. Then…well, then there's other things."

"What kind of things?" I was really worried now. He sensed my feelings and put his hand on my knee, I put my hand on top of his.

"Her Dad could have passed away, that or another member of her family." He said solemnly.

I couldn't bring myself to speak. All I wanted was to get to Shelbie as fast as possible. We came to Port Hadlock in no time. We took a late ferry and crossed over into Seattle, we turned onto the highway to get to the airport. The lights from the buildings and signs flashed here and there. I heard a plane go by over head and new that we were close. In fact, as I looked closer I could see it not that far ahead.

I hastily put some quarters into the meter, dropping most of them on the cement. Edward picked them up and put the rest of them in the slot with no trouble and turned the handle. My hands were shaking from the adrenaline coursing through me. We set the meter for an hour. Seattle had a pretty big airport and Shelbie never told us were to find her. We had to go hunting.

We half ran into the airport, looking for someone to be at a counter working. On the other side of the long hall there was a lady working the help desk. She was obviously board and was filing her nails and smacking her gum. She perked up once she saw Edward and me, or should I just say Edward.

She leaned forward as we came closer. She had blond curly hair and looked to be about forty, very pretty though; she was wearing high-gloss red lipstick. Her name tag proclaimed her as Debbie.

"What can I do for you?" She had a Jersey City accent, I also didn't miss that she was only talking to Edward.

Edward grabbed my hand and drug me closer to him, wrapping his arm around my waist. "We were wondering where the gate is for a flight that came in from Spokane." Edward looked at me, winked, smiled and kissed me. "Our wedding is coming up and her Maid of Honor is flying in from Spokane, but she forgot to tell us were to pick her up." He looked at me again. I couldn't help but smile.

When we looked back to Debbie, her smile seemed to be plastered on to her face. "Congratulations! If you'll excuse me, I'll go check." She turned around and walked into a back room.

I put a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "Did you see the look on her face?" I whispered, my shoulders shaking from the built up giggles.

She came back in a few minuets. "The last plane to come here from Spokane landed about an hour and a half ago." She pointed farther down the hall and made a gesture to go to the right. "Go down that hall, turn right. She should have picked up her bags down there. Maybe that's were she's waiting. Or just check outside." She turned back to us, the smile still on her face. "Congratulations on the marriage. I hope you have a happy life together. Have a good night."

"Bye Debbie thanks for the help." I smile at her, this time she didn't return the gesture.

"Yes, thank you very much." Edward said looking back to Debbie, both of us already a third of the way down the hall.

We came to the room where you claimed your bags. The conveyer belts that brought the bags around were all off, except for one, apparently a plane had just come in. The room was very large, with many seats along the walls to sit and wait for baggage and people. In the far corner of the vast room, I could see a small figure with two suitcases curled up on one of the seats. Their legs were brought up to their chest, I couldn't tell who it was, and they had their head down and resting on their knees.

I looked to Edward the question already written to my face, asking 'is that her?' He simply nodded and stepped closer, quietly sitting beside Shelbie.

He put his hand on her back, "Shelbie?" He asked, though he already knew it was her.

She raised her head, smiling, though the tears on her cheeks were fresh. She gently dabbed the tears away around her black eye. "Oh, Edward!" she sobbed, burying her face in his jacket.

I rushed forward and put my hand on her back as a comforting gesture. She turned to me now and hugged me. "Thank you so much for coming to get Me." she whispered.

"It's going to be all right now. Lets get to the car; you can explain things in there." I grabbed her hand and led her back the way Edward and I had come. Edward followed, grabbing the two suitcases with ease, Shelbie already had her carryon shouldered and was looking back at Edward. "Do you want me to take one of those? They're pretty heavy."

Edward just smiled back, "Trust me, I'm fine."

As we passed by Debbie I waved to her, but she ignored me, sending a little finger wave to Edward. He smiled and plowed forward. Once we got to the car Edward put the suitcases in the trunk and opened the door for Shelbie and I. He got situated in his seat before he spoke.

"Shelbie, what happened to you?" Edward said, not looking back, staring at the steering wheel.

"Oh, you noticed the black eye?" Shelbie said.

"Yeah, we noticed." I said, "It's kind of hard to miss."

"Well, it's a funny story. Jess Shimmals was saying stuff to me. Calling me a savage, and red-skinned inbreed, she said that my Dad deserved to die because the world needed one less Indian." Shelbie looked upset at first, but then her frown turned into a smile. "So I punched her in the face and slammed her head into the locker. We ended up rolling around on the floor, she got one good hit to my eye, and then we were pulled apart by the teachers. I got suspended for five days, but my Dad said that he's had it with me. I was supposed to move in with my aunt down on the rez. Even though I like Jacob, my Dad wanted my aunt to arrange my marriage." The smile faded and was replaced with tears. "So I ran away. I couldn't stand to know that I couldn't be any ware near Jacob."

Edward pulled out of the airport and turned to go to the marina to catch a ferry. While we were pulling into Port Angeles Shelbie fell asleep. Edward had to carry her into the house. It was 5:00 and Charlie was up and ready to leave for work. He took a look at Shelbie and stood out of the way so Edward could take her up to my room. Charlie gabbed my arm and pulled me aside. "I'll talk to her once I get home from work, I want her to tell me what happened to her eye. Get some ice out of the freezer to put on it when she wakes up." He kissed my forehead and left the house, muttering something that sounded like "I'm late"

Edward came back down the stairs and led me to the couch. We sat there watching cartoons until I fell asleep, my head resting on his shoulder.

**Authors note: None of this is true. I added Shelbie back in here to make the rest of the story flow. Although, I'm not saying that I _wouldn't_ like slamming Jess' head in a locker wink**


	2. Who Will Save Me?

When I woke up, my head was on a pillow; I was still on the couch. I looked up and saw that the pillow was on Edward's lap. He sat there quietly, circling my temple with his cold fingertips. "Good morning, love." He smiled.

I got up with a grunt, rubbing the sleep from my eyes with the heel of my hand. "Is she awake yet?"

"No, not yet. I was just debating weather I should make breakfast for the two of you." He leaned forward and his lips locked with mine. "Now we can make it together." He gave me that beautiful crooked smile. "Better yet, you sleep here, and I'll make breakfast."

Before I could object, he was in the kitchen, getting out the pancake mix. I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach; it was the feeling of déjà vu. It had been less than a month ago, Victoria had come back to kill me, and nearly did, if it weren't for Edward and his family, I'd be dead.

"Good morning." A small voice said from the stairs. It was Shelbie, all ready for the day, dressed in the clothes she had ware the night before.

"Good morning." I smiled and scooted over on the couch to make room for Shelbie to sit. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long, I just got dressed and brushed my hair." She smiled, and sniffed the air. I sniffed too. "Pancakes." She said.

We both turned our heads to the kitchen and saw Edward putting some pancakes on the table. He smiled at us both. "Breakfast is served."

Shelbie and I made our way to the table and took a seat. Two plates were set out for us; we sat down in front of them and got our selves some pancakes. They were delicious.

"Thank you, baby." I said, Edward leaned over my shoulder and gave me a peck on the cheek.

"You're welcome."

"Yeah, thanks Edward. You too, Bella, for everything." Shelbie said head down. Unconsciously she put a hand to her bruised eye.

"My Dad wants to talk to you after he gets home." I said, taking another small bite of pancake.

Shelbie shook her head. "I'm not going back. I want to stay here. I'll work for my stay, I'll get a job and cook and clean, I'll do anything, just let me stay."

"I want you to stay, but how will your parents feel? They can take you back."

"Shelbie, you need to think hard about this. Is staying here really what you want?" Edward added.

"Yes." She whispered.

I looked at the clock on the wall. Whoa, it was already 10:30! I didn't realize that we had slept in that late. But I began to get an idea.

I looked back to Shelbie, a grin on my face. "You didn't, by any chance, happen to tell Jacob that you were coming, did you?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "No. I left in a hurry. Why?"

"Well, I was just thinking that we should give him a wake up call."

"Really! That would be amazing!" Shelbie yelped, her face bright with the prospect.

"After, of course, you call your parents to tell them you're okay." Edward interjected.

Shelbie let out a deep sigh, "Fine."

She made her way to the living room with the phone and dialed. "Hello, Mom? It's Shelbie….yeah, I know but-…Mom, will you at least listen to me? No, I'm not coming home! I'm at Bella's…She's letting my stay here…I'll call you back later when I'm done talking to Bella's Dad…I love you too, yeah, bye."

She turned to Edward and me. "There, I did it."

"Alright, we'll take quick showers and get ready." I looked at Edward, "I'll call you when we get back."

"That's fine with me." Edward kissed me good-bye and waved to Shelbie.

After my shower I blow-dried my hair and did a swipe of mascara on my lashes. While I was brushing my teeth Shelbie used the bathroom to change into some new clothes from her suitcase. She had let her hair air dry, and it cascaded down in beautiful waves. Once we were both ready, we jumped in my truck and headed for La Push.

Edward had bought me a cell phone about a week ago, so I could keep in touch with people. I pulled it out of my pocket and called Jacobs house. I put it on speaker phone so Shelbie could hear but told her to keep quiet.

Billy answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey Billy, its Bella. I was just wondering if Jacob was up."

"He's out in the garage; I could get him for you."

"No, that's okay. I'm coming up with someone very special with me, and I don't want him to know, it's a surprise."

"Shelbie's up again?" Billy whispered, as if Jacob could hear him all the way in the garage.

"Yep, she's sitting right next to me."

"Thank goodness. Jacob was so upset when she left. We can't afford very many long distance calls, on both sides. They have talked twice, for thirty minuets since she left. Jacob doesn't smile very much anymore."

"We'll be there in a few minuets, Billy. See you then."

"Good-bye Bella."

I clicked the phone closed and thought about what Billy had said. I couldn't imagine being very far from Edward for very long, let alone talk to him only thirty minuets. Wow, I couldn't even grasp what Shelbie must have been feeling. Two phone calls in two weeks! I don't think I could stand it. No wonder Shelbie fought so hard to be with Jacob. I would fight just as hard to get to Edward.

We soon came to Jacob's house; I cut the engine and could hear that Jacob was indeed in the garage, I could hear clanking of tools being set on the cement floor. I looked over to Shelbie, who was just beaming with delight. I swear she would have glowed in the dark.

"Jacob?" I yelled.

There was some louder clanging and Jacob half yelling '_son of a bitch!_' I could see him limping around the corner. "Bella?"

When he saw that I wasn't alone, and who I was with, he gave Shelbie one of the biggest smiles that I have ever seen.

Shelbie ran forward and leaped onto Jacob. It was one of the sweetest moments that I have ever seen before. They stood there hugging each other. Shelbie had tears streaming down her face; Jacob comforted her by kissing every tear away from her face, stroking her hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

"I'm so happy to see you." Jacob said, brushing the hair away from her face. "But I'm not so happy about that black eye. What happened? How did you get here?"

"We have to inside and talk to Billy too. I'll explain everything in there." Shelbie said, kissing Jacob passionately before wiping the tears from her cheeks and heading inside.

Jacob came to my side and gave me a suffocating hug, whispering, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

We all sat down at the small table in Jacob's house and listened as Shelbie told the story. We all sat quietly for a while as we waited for Billy's opinion.

"Well, if Charlie says that you can stay, and your dad thinks its okay, you can go to school with Jacob here on the reservation. I would be proud of Jacob if he keeps seeing you. You are a very bright, beautiful girl." He gave Shelbie a smile.

She got out of her chair and gave Billy a hug, "Thank you, Billy."

I looked over at Shelbie, "How about if I leave you here and pick you up later when you are done visiting. If its okay with Billy."

"Of course."

"I'll call you, when I need to be picked up." Shelbie said, holding Jacob's hand.

"Actually, we still have to talk to Charlie, so I'll be back around 4:30." I gave everyone a wave good-bye and headed back to the house, calling Edward on the cell phone as I drove.

"Hello?" Edward said, his voice like honey, even over the phone.

"It was so cute! I wish you could have been there!"

"Are you driving and talking on the phone at the same time?" came his reply.

"Yeah, why? I'm going to be home in ten minuets or so."

"I'll meet you at the house. I don't trust you when you talk and drive."

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not capable on multitasking?" I accused, though he was already off of the phone.

I was still in a huff when I pulled into my drive way. The silver Volvo, the red Corvette, the red Jeep and the black Jag were no where to be seen. He must have run all the way here. I went to my front door, still locked, just like I had left it. I came in with much gusto and loudly put the keys on the table.

I checked in the kitchen and saw that no one was there. I checked in my room, still no Edward. Maybe he wasn't here yet. But that in itself was very odd. When he said that he would meet me, he meant it and was probably, at least, a half an hour early. What was going on? Something terrible must have happened.

I was just about to reach for the phone to call Edward when I was hit by someone from behind. I let out a yell as they took me to the ground. We were rolling this way and that, their body pressed against mine. Was I going to die? Who was going to save me?


	3. Romeo and Juliet

I was just about to reach for the phone to call Edward when I was hit from behind. I let out a yell as they took me to the ground. We rolled this way and that, their body pressed against mine. Was I going to die? Who was going to save me?

I ended up on my back, my arms pressed and held tight above my head. I was face to face with Edward. He smiled at me. "Were you scared?"

"Yeah, well, kind of. Only a little bit though." I said sarcastically.

"Well, now that we're alone…" Edward smiled once again and pressed his lips to mine.

The kiss was soft at first, but it slowly grew more passionate, more demanding. He maneuvered me out from under him and changed our positions so I was on top of his strong body. I could feel his muscles contract with every movement, our kiss still had not been broken, but, as like all things, they must end.

Edward broke away first and leaned his head back on the kitchen linoleum as I rested my head on his chest. He had no heart beat, of course, but he was breathing heavy, just like I was, his chest rising and falling with every breath.

"You're going to kill me. Do you know that?" he breathed, kissing my hair, breathing in deep my scent. "I love you so much. I will, honestly, love you, and keep loving you until the day I die."

"But what about me? What will I do? I would have nothing." I looked into his eyes, "Unless, I can live forever too."

"Bella," Edward said in a firm whisper, "I'm not going to take your soul." He gently stroked my cheek.

"You won't be taking my soul. You are just as alive as I am. Except for the fact that you're kind of dead, but other than that, you have a soul. _Mine_. I gave you my heart and soul long ago."

"Bella, please _stop_." Edward said, moving out from under me.

"It's something we're going to have to face sooner or later! I'm getting old here, literally! I am going to _die_, Edward. Someday. And you have the power to save me. But you won't." I whispered. "_But you won't_."

"That's a bridge we can burn once we cross it." He said.

"When _we_ cross that bridge _I'll _be dead!" I exclaimed.

"But you would have_ lived_. Lived beautifully. I don't want to take that away from you." His voice was full of emotion, putting his hand against my cheek. I held it there for a long while before speaking.

"Then, if you won't do it, though I would want it to be you, I'll find someone else to do it. Carlisle would. So would Alice." I said staring Edward right in the eye, determined.

"Bella, stop right there. They will not go against me in that. I don't even want you to talk to them about it."

"You can't stop me from talking Edward!" I yelled.

"Oh, yes I can." He put his hand firmly to my mouth. I tried to yell at him some more, but all that came from me were muffled sounds.

"Ah, this is much better." He said with a sigh. "Listen to me Bella. I don't want to talk about this any more today. I'm going to let my hand go, and when I do, no more talking about that particular subject. No yelling, screaming, little hints at it. We are leaving that alone. Okay?" He removed his hand.

"But Edward-" His hand was over my mouth again. I gave a muffled sigh.

"No, no, no. You didn't listen."

He moved his hand and before I could say a word, his mouth was on mine. My heart nearly stopped. No, wait, I think it did. _What were we talking about again?_ Just then, his tongue touched mine, sending my heart beating again, and ten times faster. _Where we talking at all?_ His hand slid down my waist down to the small of my back and up my shirt a bit, his cold, marble hand forcing me closer to him. _We weren't talking at all. Nope, not at all._

He pulled away first. "Want to watch a movie?"

"No." I kissed him again, but he was still under my lips.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" he said again. This, in Edward's language, meant that that was enough kissing at the moment. Edward had boundaries and he made the lines very clear.

"Yeah, sure."

We walked to the living room and he pulled out the movie Romeo and Juliet, putting it the VCR and pressing play. We sat on the couch side by side, hands together, fingers intertwined. I looked at our hands. Our lives were so intertwined that it would be hard to sever every line. But I know one thing that would, death.

Edward leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Are you going to cry?"

"Probably, yeah."

The movie started and we were silent, well, I was quiet. For once, Edward couldn't stop talking. If he wasn't whispering Romeo's lines in my ear, especially the ones to Juliet, he was laughing. I sighed and pressed pause.

"What are you laughing about?" I giggled.

"Romeo is a dunce." Edward chuckled.

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, he wasn't even in love with Juliet at first. He kills himself right next to her, but she's alive. He could have just as easily put his hand under her nose or over her mouth to check if she was breathing. But no, killing himself was the "rational" thing to do." He laughed.

"Would you die for me, Edward? I mean, really. I would die for you."

He put his finger under my chin to raise my head to look at him. "Of course I would die for you. Don't you ever think different. But, I don't want you to die for me. It's useless. Don't." His voice was serious.

"But I would die without you."

"I would die without you too, but it's different. I don't want to be the cause of your death." He looked away and added, almost like an after thought, "And I just might kill you."

"You won't. I'm in perfect condition!"

"I've come so close already. What happened with _James_ and _Victoria_," he hissed the names, so much hatred were behind them that I flinched. "You could have died because of me. That was my fault. I was standing over your broken body. I could barely even tell if you were breathing…" his voice swelled with emotion. I was positive, that if he was capable of crying, he would have been at this moment. "I thought I had lost you." He drew me into an intense hug.

Tears were rolling down my face. "It wasn't your fault. It was not your fault!" I sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm still here, I'm not leaving."

"I know. I love you so much Bella, you can't even comprehend. I'm never leaving you." He put both hands on either side of my face and gave me a kiss to show his passion. It was unbelievable. It was everything and nothing at the same time. It was beautiful. And just when the passion was at it's highest…the phone rang.

We both sat prone on the couch for a moment. I got off of the couch and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Bella? Aren't you going to pick me up?" It was Shelbie.

I looked at the clock, it was 4:55. Mental head slap. "I'm having some car trouble. The truck's not getting started." I fibbed.

"Yeah, _sure_. The truck won't get started. Sad day." Shelbie said.

"No, really, it won't start!" no, really, I was a bad liar.

"Right." She giggled.

"Oh, don't be sick!" I said.

"Yeah, well, uh, tell Edward _'hi_' for me." And with that she hung up.

"I have to go down to La Push to pick Shelbie up. Are you going to visit me later tonight?" I asked, curious.

"Is Shelbie going to be in your room?" he asked.

"No, I'm setting her up on the couch."

"I'll be by your side at 11:00." He played with a piece of hair between his fingers.

"11:00?" I wined unintentionally.

"Quick hunting trip with Emmett." He kissed the nape of my neck. "You better get going."

"Crap!" I bolted out the door, with Edward on my heels, finding me funny in my clumsy rush out the door. He was already out the door and holding the driver's side door open for me.

"I'll see you later tonight." He said closing the door. I buckled my seatbelt and when I looked up he was gone. I turned the key in the ignition, the engine caught and I was off to La Push.


	4. Soft Footsteps

I lay in bed, not sleeping, waiting for Edward to come. I looked at the clock beside my bed, moaning unintentionally as I saw that it was 10:00.

When I had come home with Shelbie from La Push we sat down at the table and waited for Charlie to come home. When he did, we all had a long talk about what was going on. Shelbie called her parents and her dad talked to Charlie for a while. Shelbie was going to go to school on the reservation on Monday; her parents would be paying for everything. I was going to share a room with her, which would put a damper on Edward's night visits, but we could work it out.

I heard the sound of the window sliding open, slowly, trying not to make to much noise. I lay there motionless, pretending to be asleep. Soft footsteps, my heart stopped then. The steps were different, the space between the steps was too short, and they were too loud on the floor. It wasn't Edward that was in my room.

I felt some pressure at the end of my bed, some one sitting and watching me.

"Hello, Isabella." Came the whisper. My heart stopped beating, I stopped breathing. I knew that voice.

"It's been a long time, Isabella. I've been watching you though. I've been protecting you, my _Angelo_." Alessandro whispered in my ear.

I opened my eyes reluctantly; he already knew that I was awake. Ever since he had visited me the first time, I looked up what he had said to me. '_Buonanotte, cara Angelo. I'll be watching._' I shivered a bit. Alessandro tucked my faded quilt tighter around me. I shivered some more. '_Good night, my_ _dear_ _angel_' he had said.

Alessandro brushed some hair out of my face and behind my ear. "I must leave now, Isabella. But I shall return." He bent down and kissed my cheek before whispering once again in my ear. "Be safe my _Angelo_. I'll be watching." He kissed me again and was gone.

I waited for a few minuets before I let the first tear fall. I sat there crying silently to myself. I felt violated and afraid. I needed to tell Edward about Alessandro. I was so deep in thought and was so intent on crying that I didn't even notice that Edward had come into the room. I was still shaky from Alessandro that when Edward was suddenly by my side I gave out a scream. The scream didn't last long; Edward's hand was over my mouth. Once I realized it was him I pulled him close to me.

"It's okay Bella. Shhh. It's alright, I'm here." He said soothingly. He waited until I was calmed down before he said anything else. "Bella, what happened?"

"Alessandro was here. In my room! He said that he was watching me; he kept calling me his angel and was kissing me. I was so afraid, I couldn't do anything! I feel violated. I'm _scared_ Edward!" I began to cry once again.

He hugged me to him. I could feel the anger pulsing through him. It emanated from every pore in his body. "I'm sending Alice over here to stay with you. Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper and I are going to look for him." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Alice's number. Their conversation was so brief and he talked so fast that I couldn't even catch a thing that he was saying.

"She'll be here in a minute. I'm going to wait here with you for a while." He said pulling back the quilt and crawling into bed with me. His body was cold against mine but I didn't care, it was how I knew he was there, that he was close and protecting me. _Protecting me_. That's what Alessandro said he was doing. What was he protecting me from? Did he know something I didn't?

I heard the sound of the window opening again and I propped myself up on my elbow. Alice danced over to me and gave me a hug. "Emmett and Jasper are waiting." She said simply to Edward. He nodded once and kissed me good-bye.

Alice sat in the rocker in the corner of my room and told me to go to sleep. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how tired I was. I soon tumbled head over heels into what seemed like the deepest sleep of my life.

When I woke Alice was still in the rocker, silently rocking back and forth. "Good morning." She said with a smile. "Shelbie already took a shower and is making breakfast, Charlie is at work. Get ready for the day and I'll "happen" to be in the neighborhood and hang out for the day." She said.

"Edward still isn't back?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No." she shook her head.

I got up and took a shower, taking extra time to blow-dry my hair. I joined Shelbie for breakfast, not saying much. Both of us tired. There had been many tears last night when Shelbie called home. Her dad wasn't taking everything as great as her mom was.

The phone rang and I already knew who was going to be on the other end. "I'm going to your house." Alice said.

"Alright." I said before hanging up. I turned to Shelbie. "Alice is coming over."

"Alice…" Shelbie said brows furrowed. "She's Edward's sister, right?"

"Right." In a few minutes Alice was knocking at the door. I opened it and she stepped inside.

She gracefully bounded over to where Shelbie sat and gave her a quick hug. "Long time no see. Nice shiner, by the way."

"Thanks." Shelbie said startled, but she quickly overcame her shock and was herself again. "Does it go well with my personality? I'm thinking about making it an all time thing. You know, ask someone to punch me. It makes me look fierce, right?" She flexed her biceps, with a tough look on her face and made a '_meow_' sound.

We all laughed; even I couldn't help but giggle. Shelbie just had that kind of charm about her. You had to look really close to find any shred of proof of the storm raging within her. She hid her true feelings very well. It was one of the many things I envied about her.

"So, how is everybody else?" Shelbie said, making conversation as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"They're doing well. Emmett and Rosalie are going to be married pretty soon." She looked at me and winked, where Shelbie couldn't see. "And I'm engaged!" she held out her hand for us to examine the rock. And when I said '_rock_' I meant '_ROCK_'. This thing was huge. It was a large diamond in the middle, flanked by two "smaller" diamonds on each side of the brilliant gold band. The only word I could use to describe it was, to say the least, impressive.

Shelbie stared at it in disbelief, her eyes wide in wonder. "Wow." Was all she could say for a few moments. She was awed. "Put that thing away! You're blinding me with your bling!"

Alice smiled and dropped her hand to her side. "So, what are we doing today?" she asked.

Shelbie and I looked at each other and shrugged. "We didn't really plan anything." I said.

"Good, I have the sudden urge to go shopping. Let's go down to Port Angeles for the day."

After a quick call to Charlie, telling him where we were going, some time in the bathroom redoing our hair, and getting our purses stuffed with the things we needed, we were off to Port Angeles.

Shelbie was startled by how fast we were driving, but once she saw that Alice was in control, she eased her grip on her seat arm. We were soon in Port Angeles, the small sea town at the top of the peninsula.

"This is pretty cool." Shelbie said looking around. "I've never been here before."

"Alright ladies, we've got three credit cards and all day to max them out. Where do you want to go to first?"

"Um, where ever you want to, I don't really know my way around here." I said for Shelbie as well as myself.

"Let's head over here." Alice said walking away in the direction of an expensive looking store.

We looked around for a while, we all tried on a few outfits, some dresses, but didn't buy anything. Shelbie and I really didn't want to spend Alice's money. After we walked around the whole shopping district and still had nothing new to our name, Alice turned to face us.

"That's it. I bring you guys shopping and you don't buy a thing! And don't think I didn't see that you saw something you liked. Shelbie, sweetheart, you where eyeing that little red dress like a fat boy looking at a cupcake. I'm not buying anything until you guys find something you like and I can get it for you." Alice crossed her arms and looked defiant. "We'll go to Seattle if we have to."

Shelbie and I looked at each other and sighed. We'd do anything to make Alice happy, and besides, Shelbie did look really good in that dress; and I absolutely loved that grey sweater I tried on. I gave another sigh and said "alright." I'd have to distract Shelbie while Alice paid for everything. Last time I saw Alice use a credit card she signed her name as Alice Marie Durpos.

We filed back into the store and Shelbie picked out her dress and I got my sweater off of the rack. But before we could even get close to the register Alice stepped out in front of us. She had one hand on her hip and the other arm extended in front of her, making the "stop" gesture.

"Wait a minute. Bella, you need a dress too."

"Why?" I asked, bewildered.

Alice had her large beautiful smile planted on her face. It was in that moment that she looked insanely beautiful. Not just supermodel gorgeous, but angelically beautiful. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Edward's taking you to dinner. Shelbie is taking Jacob and I'm going with you guys along with Jasper."

"Whoa! Dinner at a fancy restaurant? I've never done anything like this." Shelbie's shock and excitement was clearly written on her face. I couldn't help but get excited too.

"Yep, tonight, when the boys get back, we're going to Seattle to eat." Alice's smile grew wider. "That means we have to find shoes still." She said, shoeing Shelbie off to the shoe part of the store before turning to me. "You're way behind, here, take these." She handed me two black dresses, three red and one pink to go and try on.

Alice sat down in a chair right outside the door to my dressing room and waited for me to come out and model her choices. I tried on the pink one first. While attempting to zip up the back, Alice began to talk to me through the door.

"How are you doing? You know, after last night and everything. You seemed to sleep pretty well through the rest of the night. How were you this morning?"

"I'm fine Alice." I grunted. "But I'll be even better if I could zip this the rest of the way up." I opened the door and held my hair so Alice could zip my dress closed.

She stepped back gasped and smiled. "You look amazing!" The dress was very pretty. It was light pink taffeta over pink silk. It was very well done; it didn't show too much skin and went a little bit passed my knees. It was perfect because the dress stopped a little after where my scar did that Victoria gave me, so I could sit down and it still wouldn't show and it also covered the mark she left on my shoulder. I timidly walked out of the dressing room to look at myself in the mirrors. I did look pretty, sort of.

Just then Shelbie came in with three shoe boxes under her arm. She looked me over and began to laugh. "I can't wait to see Edward keel over from a heart attack when he sees you! Kodak moment! You look hot!"

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks so I ducked my head down. I sat there with Alice to wait and see Shelbie in her dress; we were going to be judging shoes. Shelbie came out of the room with a flourish, but she soon became self conscious. It was a red halter dress that was formfitting and kind of short. She looked really good in red, it brought out the beautiful tones of her skin. She was wearing black high-heels. She walked gracefully over to the mirrors and looked at herself with a critical eye.

"I like the shoes." She said. "I'll be as tall as Jacob in these!" She looked at herself again. "Okay, I'll still be a foot shorter, but hey, their cute."

We got dressed in our street clothes again and made our way to the counter once we picked out a pair of white shoes for me. They were heels, but still low to the ground so I didn't have to worry about being very unstable.

I distracted Shelbie while Alice paid, I caught a glimpse of the name though, Alice Louise Barker. We left for home at about 1:30, Shelbie called the front seat this time around and we made it home at a little after 2:00. Alice dropped us off, saying that she was getting all of her stuff and that we would all get dressed at my house.

"I'm pooped." Shelbie said, slumping on the couch. "I need to call Jacob and tell him to dress nice for tonight. Didn't Alice say something about leaving at 5:00?" She got back up with a grunt and called Jacob.

"Tell him to be here at a quarter till five." I stage whispered to her from the kitchen.

As soon as Shelbie hung up, Alice was at the door, her arms full. She laid down the things and told Shelbie to take a shower while she got ready. It was really all a distraction as Alice hauled in a 200 pound full length mirror. Alice snuck up to my room and literally seconds later came down in a lovely flowing black dress, her pixie like hair perfect.

Shelbie came down in sweats and a baggy T-shirt and was air drying her hair. I went into the shower next. The water was hot and relaxing, it was all I could do to keep from falling asleep standing up. When I came back down the stairs Shelbie was all ready in her dress and shoes. Her hair was slightly curly and gelled to stay that way; she had silver hoops in her ears and was wearing black eyeliner and two coats of mascara. Her black eye had magicaly disapeared. My guess was that Alice had brought out that wonderful foundation of hers. At first glance I could have sworn that Shelbie was Latino. She gave me a big toothy smile and a little finger wave.

Alice handed me my dress and told me to go upstairs and change. I came down the stairs before putting my shoes on, not wanting to risk tumbling down the stairs. I sat down in the kitchen chair that Alice had set up in front of the mirror and took the curling iron off of the floor and went to work. About an hour later, I was allowed to look in the mirror again to see Alice's handy work. She had my hair done up in beautiful waves framing my face. She had taken a decorative comb with pink and white crystals on it to hold the left side of my hair up. I was tempted, but didn't ask if the jewels on the comb were real.

Next thing we knew it was 4:45 and Jacob was at the door. Alice answered the door and paused for a beat. "Um, can I come in?"

Alice flashed her mega watt smile. "Sure." She opened the door and motioned for him to come in. Shelbie and I were leaning against the counters in the kitchen when he came in. Shelbie quickly got up and gave the momentarily stunned Jacob Black a hug.

"I start school on Monday." She announced to him happily.

"Yeah, cool." Jacob said giving Shelbie a once over, for the fourth time. His long hair was slicked back and pulled into a ponytail. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks, he looked pretty dressed up, but it was still plain by comparison to what I knew Jasper and Edward would be wearing.

We soon heard another knock on the door; Alice answered and was followed into the living room by Edward and Jasper. I ducked my head down again, embarrassed about my appearance. I felt Edward's cold finger under my chin lifting my head up to look at him. "You look beautiful." He said simply, his topaz eyes blazing with intense longing.

"What?" I asked, still embarrassed.

"Nothing, except that I'm going to have to hear all the dirty little things every male in a one mile radius will be thinking of you. I want you all to myself." He kissed my neck. "I'm terribly selfish."

"I need to call Charlie and tell him what's going on." I said.

"I'll follow you, we need to talk anyway." He said leading the way to the kitchen.

I took the phone off of the charger and dialed Charlie to fill him in. "Alright, be careful. And let my conscious be your guide." He said before hanging up.

"So" I said turning to Edward, "did you find him?" I tried to keep the fear out of my voice, but it cracked anyway. Edward sighed and drew me close to him.

"We tried, we found his trail but it was very faint, then it just disappeared. We looked all over but it never showed up again. I tried Bella, I really did."

"It's fine." I lied. "Let go out and have a good time, okay?"

We all packed ourselves into the black Jag and took off for Seattle.


	5. Protection

**Athur's note: Sorry for the wait, school and other stuff got in the way. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

We arrived in Seattle an hour or so after leaving the house. We were down town heading for the restaurant, it had just rained and the lights from the signs overhead reflected off of the damp cement.

At first there was a lot of tension, so much that it was like it was tangible in the air around us. Edward was determined not to look at Jacob, and Jacob either stared at the floor or Shelbie with the occasional glare at Edward. But, as the ride went on everyone started to relax the ride was easier. Once we got on the ferry and were seated we started to make more conversation and were all laughing together at one of Shelbie's jokes. Not saying that there wasn't a little anxiety, after all, there were six people in the car, three of which were vampires, two oblivious humans and me, the person in the middle. Jacob had some idea about what the Cullen's were, but he didn't believe any of it, waved it off as a stupid tribal legend. A legend and nothing more, a fairy tale, not something that was possible, that was terribly real.

Jasper slowed the car to a near stop and turned to stop the car on the curb in front of a gorgeous restaurant. The outside motif was like an old Victorian mansion stuck between two other restaurants with a more modern style. It was called _Silk_. We all filed out of the car and Jasper handed the keys to the valet who looked as old as me.

"It's wonderful!" Shelbie gasped as Jacob wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Yeah, even if we split the bill I'm not sure I could pay for my part." Jacob said nervously trying to make a joke about it, but I could tell that he was embarrassed. Shelbie did too.

She reached up on her tippy toes and gave Jacob a peck on the cheek. "I won't be able to either. I ran away from home and didn't think to bring money!" she giggled.

We walked in and were waited on immediately. I looked around and saw that everyone in the restaurant was dressed in very fine clothing, a posh crowd. Edward kissed me right under my ear and he whispered to me, telling me to follow him. He held out his arm and led me to the table.

"Are you having a great evening?" Edward asked, whispering again. It was a simple question but with Edward's honey smooth voice, he might as well have been whispering sweet nothings in my ear. My heart fluttered and did summer salts in my chest all the same.

"Yes, it's been great." I replied in a barely audible whisper, knowing that he heard.

"Um, hello?" The waitress said impatiently. "What would you like to order?" She was pretty, in a simple way, but her nasty attitude made her so ugly it was hard to describe. I felt Edward shift his weight, taking a minor defensive stance.

"We were having a discussion; I would ask that you come back later when we're ready to order." His voice was soft silk, his face hard, alabaster stone, my concrete angel.

"Whoa, Edward. Simmer." Shelbie said respectfully.

"Sorry." Edward said smiling. "She was rude." He said shrugging.

"What do you guys think about going dancing later after dinner?" Alice said, changing the subject.

"That sounds like fun!" Shelbie said half jumping out of her seat. "Jacob, what do you think?" She said, turning.

Jacob had been acting different all night, not his normal talkative self. Up until Shelbie had turned to talk to him he had been brooding in the corner. I knew what he was thinking at the moment to word dance was mentioned. It was the same thing I was thinking: Oh, shit. Jacob and I both were not the most coordinate members of this party and everyone knew it. I dreamed of being like Alice, or even Rosalie, beautiful and graceful, people that were meant to be on a runway. And even if I couldn't be like them, I'd have given anything to be like Shelbie. Shelbie had that spark of a personality, the spark that started a wildfire of great times and good conversation. She was graceful and athletic in her own way. Shelbie could run flat out in four inch heels, I'd seen her do it before.

"What ever you guys want, my dad wanted me home at least by 2:00." He said monotone, only saying this to make Shelbie happy.

"It's settled then." Jasper said. But he soon turned his attention to the rude waitress who had come back to take our order.

Edward and Alice ordered for Shelbie, Jacob and me. It was something in French. I was almost scared to ask Edward what it was. "Don't worry about it, you'll like it, I promise." Edward whispered gently in my ear.

The conversation carried on fairly well for the rest of the night, considering Edward and Jacobs dislike for each other. By the time we paid for the dinner and were walking to the dance hall, it was around seven. The night was ours, we were young, sort of, and we were all friends having a good time.

I held hands with Edward, his cold hand keeping me grounded to reality. His skin as pale as the quarter moon overhead, a giant among a few stars that Seattle's city lights let break threw their glare. I tilted my head back and sighed. What a beautiful night with my love.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward asked, gently squeezing my hand.

"I wish you could see more of the stars. It's like being back in Phoenix, hardly any stars, the palest moon I've ever seen." I looked back over to Edward and saw him chuckling softly. "What?"

"Nothing, you just look so beautiful under the moon." He bowed and kissed my hand with his soft lips. "You are my Mistress of the Stars, my Princess of the Shadows." His voice was beautifully poetic.

"How can I be mistress to something I'm afraid of?" I said continuing to walk.

Edward put his arm around my waist and whispered into my ear, "It is better to rule over something you are afraid of than fall prey to it."

Up ahead Shelbie was drunk with laughter and staggered, holding on to Jacob for support, who was laughing too. Edward and I finally caught up to them while Shelbie was whipping the tears from her eyes.

"That was great." She chuckled.

We were crossing the damp street when Shelbie fell behind, she motioned for Jacob to keep walking as she bent down to retrieve something that had fallen out of her purse. She never saw the truck coming, she didn't notice the lights. The driver obviously didn't notice her either.

Edward was the first to react. He ran to her at lightning speed, just as she turned to scream. Edward grabbed Shelbie around the waist and catapulted her to the other side of the street. I could hear a far off noise, was that me screaming? But it was not for Shelbie, the reason my voice echoed off of the brick walls of the buildings that surrounded us, it was for what was in the ally behind Jacob on our side of the street.

There was Alessandro, leaning against the wall I suddenly heard my mouth forming words, but they seemed far off How could he have followed her all this way? What about the ferry?

"Edward!" I could hear myself scream "He's here!"

Jacob's attention was on Shelbie and Edward across the street, still confused about what was going on, to shocked to cry, or even shout out

Alice and Jasper both took defensive positions around me and Jacob, preparing for a fight if need be _No_, I thought, _he'll rip you apart. He just wants me_. I couldn't be able to stand it if they died because of me What would Edward think if I was the reason that his family members died?

All I could do was look at Alessandro, with his blank white eyes, seeming to laugh at the spectacle. Why was he laughing? He stepped forward from the shadows that enveloped him and slowly came toward us. His footsteps were silent, deliberate. I heard the crunch as Jasper scraped his heel on the pavement, holding his ground.

"I'm trying to keep you safe, Isabella." Alessandro said, his accent made thicker by the huskiness of his voice. And in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

"What the fuck? Where the hell did he go? What the _fuck_!" Jasper shouted, looking around and going into the ally where Alessandro had been.

It wasn't until Alice's cool hands were on my face that I knew that I was even crying; she was whipping away my tears. The next pairs of hands on me were ones that I knew very well. Edward grabbed me and pressed me firmly against his chest. It was then that I let the first tears fall, partly out of shock, terror and relief of being in the arms of the one I knew would protect me. I looked up and brought his lips to mine, never wanting the kiss to end. He broke away first to put his head on mine. I turned to look at Shelbie and saw her wailing into Jacob's chest, he had silent tears falling down his face.

In an instant this magical evening had turned into one of fear. Alessandro had said that he was protecting me. But tonight, with Shelbie and that truck, was that his doing? Making the driver and her oblivious? I could still see the terror on Shelbie's face; it was like she had been paralyzed. Was it all because of Alessandro? Getting Edward out of the way, or was it to kill the person who would harm me? But that was obviously ridicules. I looked over to Shelbie, still clutching onto Jacob, but this time locked in a passionate kiss, their tears mingling together on their cheeks. Shelbie would never hurt me; she wouldn't even hurt a fly.

Could Alessandro be trusted?


	6. A Difference

**Sorry abot the wait! My health has been in question lately and school has gotten in the way of things. I hope you like it! **

The car ride home was eerily quiet. Shelbie fell asleep on Jacobs shoulder, her makeup was gone, washed away by the tears. Jacob rested his head on hers and never awoke until we got to my house.

Alice was driving, Jasper gone to run outside of the car to make sure that it was safe. Edward sat in the back with me, cold granite against my cheek, on my lips. Would he ever really know how _much_ I loved him?

The night had gone by in a whirl of good times and nightmares. Edward said that Carlisle was going to come over later tomorrow and see if Shelbie was really okay.

"You're her hero, you know that?" I kissed him on the cheek and held my face there, teasing. "You're my hero too."

"I'm going to find him, and hurt him. I'd do anything to keep him away from you." He sighed and kissed me, "Why can't I have a normal girlfriend? One who worries about a chipped nail, or a bad hair day? Instead, I have one who has to worry about being stalked by vigilante vampires and strange creatures."

"Oh, but it makes life fun." I said jokingly.

"I swear that it's a good thing that I'm not alive. I'd be dead from a ruptured blood vessel in my brain thanks to you." He wiped the hair out of my face and kissed my cheek. "You're going to be the death of me."

"Sweetheart, you're already dead."

"Oh, you like it!" he chuckled back.

I loved seeing him this way, a kid again. He acts so serious sometimes, the years of his life showing in his voice and actions. Over a hundred years…but sometimes he has these moments where he acts like any other normal 17 (sort of) year old. I've always loved him, but it is moments like these that I cherish.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward whispered in my ear, I could just catch the sent of his breath, a sent I've come to recognize as him but never could I put my finger on the exact smell. It was sweet, like honey fresh from the hive, or perhaps it had a piney sent, the smell of Christmas wreaths.

"Oh, I was just thinking about Shelbie. I'm worried about her, what happened tonight…Edward, it's not normal. I think Alessandro has more power than any of us can guess." I bit my lower lip, thinking if I should propose what I had been pondering for quite some time, "Edward, I have been thinking that maybe I should let Alessandro come to me, talk to me."

Edward's body grew tense and I heard him take a few deep breaths to steady himself before he answered. "_Absolutely not_." He said, putting emphasis on every word.

"If I could get him to talk to me, we gain an upper hand on him that we wouldn't have had before. If I can find out where he came from, who he was, is…than I can also find his weaknesses. It could work." I pleaded.

"She has a point Edward." Alice said, finally piping in her view.

"Only if I'm there in the room; somewhere close to you." Edward grumbled.

"That will never work, he would find you. We couldn't patrol the perimeter of the house either." Alice whispered back, loud enough so I could hear. "I'm sure he won't hurt her Edward. I was there when he was talking to her. It was like he was speaking to someone he hadn't seen in a long time. Someone he loved and lost… I _don't _think he will hurt her."

The conversation abruptly ended as Alice pulled into my driveway. How could time have passed so quickly? We all filed out of the car, Edward and Jacob helping Shelbie out, she was exhausted from the shock of the night's events.

Alice and I took over when we got closer to the door, helping Shelbie up the stairs to my room.

"I'll be back in a second, ok?" I said before closing the door.

"Alright." She whispered back, staring straight ahead, sitting on the end of my bed. That was how I left her.

Alice met me coming down the stairs and silently spoke into my ear. "I'll come back later tonight ok?"

When we made our way back outside Jasper was standing next to Edward, talking in quiet, urgent tones. Jacob stood away from them, looking like a sheep banished from the heard.

"Thank you for coming tonight Jacob." I said giving him a quick hug.

"Would it be alright if I come back tomorrow? You know, to check on Shelbie?" he asked, face downcast.

"That wouldn't be a problem at all." I said cheerily.

We all stood on the porch and watched as Jacob drove away in his families worn down truck. It was as if everyone were holding their breath at once, afraid that if the very sound of our breathing would alert all things near of our presence. Jasper broke the awkward silence with a light cough.

"Emmett and I will be patrolling tonight. I don't think he would risk seeing you twice in one day." Jasper said.

"I agree. I'll come later tonight through your window, so don't be alarmed." Alice stated.

"I think Shelbie will be sleeping with me tonight," I said, "So she won't have to be alone." My voice cracked on the last word. Edward's arm was around my waist, the feeling of his firm muscle around me gave me an overwhelming feeling of protection. But only I knew that it wasn't just Shelbie that didn't want to be alone tonight, I didn't want to be alone either.

"I shall see you first think in the morning." Edward kissed my on the cheek. "I'll bring Carlisle with me, to take a look at Shelbie."

Jasper and Alice got in the car to leave us to our privacy. Edward kissed me again, his cool lips sucking all the heat from mine. "I'll always be with you." He whispered in my ear before taking a quick nibble on my earlobe, making my whole body alive and burning with desire. I waved to them as they drove away, knowing that they would be back in a few minuets time.

I made my way back up the stairs; Charlie wasn't home yet, probably at the tavern eating dinner with some of his buddies. When I opened my door I found Shelbie fully clothed and sitting on the edge of my bed, staring just like how she was when I left her. She didn't notice, or chose not to, my presence until I sat beside her.

"Shelbie?" I said brushing her hair behind her ear, as I did so a tear escaped from her eye and fell down her cheek. "How about you get ready for bed? You can sleep with me tonight." I gave her a comforting smile.

"Ok." She said. Finally getting up, grabbing her sweatpants and her shirt, walking off to the bathroom.

I got undressed quickly and climbed into bed. Shelbie came back seconds later and crawled under the covers with me. It was a different experience, I have a queen sized bed and am so used to Edward's cold body with mine, and I now instead had Shelbie's warmth beside me. I reached over and turned out the lamp, fully prepared to go to sleep even though it was only eight.

An hour went by and still sleep hadn't found me. Next to me I could head the sound of Shelbie's breathing, fully aware that she couldn't sleep either. I soon heard her voice whisper to me in the darkness.

"Bella? Are you awake?"

"No" I answered after a moment.

Shelbie turned to face me, and through the moonlight shining through the window I could see the tears wetting her cheeks.

"About what happened tonight…" she trailed off to prevent a sob.

"I'm really sorry Shelbie." I said by way of comfort.

"I couldn't even move, I saw the truck coming, but it was like I was rooted to the spot." A tear caught the moon's rays and glittered as it slid down her face. "All I could do was scream as the truck came closer. But then Edward, he…next thing I know we are on the other side of the street."

I didn't know what to say to her. She was explaining things to me like I hadn't been there watching. It was like she had to explain it to understand it herself. She turned her head away from me then going back to staring at the light seeping through the window. When she spoke again I had to strain to hear her.

"Bella, have you ever noticed that the Cullen's are different?"

My heart stopped beating in my chest for a moment. I was barely able to choke out, "Different how?"

"I don't know, just…different. It's hard to explain." She said. "But I have been thinking about it over and over all night: how did Edward get me on the other side of the street so fast? It's not humanly possible." She said, giving the word _humanly_ emphasis. "His body crashed into mine so hard, I have bruises on my waist. It's impossible." She whispered.

My heart began to race; she has been thinking about this a lot. If she looks hard enough she could stumble on the Cullen's secret just like I did. I'd have to tell Edward and the others to be weary. Who knows what the repercussions of this discovery could be?


	7. Let Your Arms Unflod Us

When I woke the next day, it was as if nothing had ever happened. I was in my room, staring at Alice sitting in my rocking chair.

"It's Sunday." Alice said. "Good morning. I waited for you guys to go to bed _forever_." She said, drawing out the word. "Shelbie didn't fall asleep until twelve."

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Down stairs, I think we need to keep an eye on her, she is trying to act like nothing happened."

"How do you know?" I wondered aloud.

Alice silently walked across the floor over to me and sat on the bed. She was all smiles, "Edward stopped by earlier this morning. Only for a while though, he was out all night looking for that guy."

"Alessandro." I say, correcting her. "I…I don't know what I'm going to do…" I trail off into sobs.

I feel Alice's comforting arms around me, soothing my sorrows, "What brought this on, hmm?"

"Shelbie knows." I say looking up and wiping the tears from my eyes. "She hasn't told me exactly what she is thinking but…" I trail off again and then, with a deep breath and all the courage I can muster, I told Alice what Shelbie had confided in me the night before.

Her brow furrowed as she mulled it over for a while. Rocking back and forth…_creek, clunk, creek, clunk_…that was all the noise between us for what seemed like an eternity. Finally she spoke in a whisper.

"That is quite troubling." That was all she said. She placed her chin on her hand and resumed rocking.

All that time and thought, keeping me waiting for a response; a plan…all for '_That is quite troubling_'?

"So…what are you going to tell Carlisle? I mean, about Shelbie?" I asked, breaking Alice's train of thought.

"Hmm? Oh, I'll just tell him what he needs to know…which is everything." She looked to the window and back at me. "I think I'm going to come over for a late breakfast." And with that she jumped out of the window.

I took a shower and got dressed before I went down stairs. The first thing I noticed was that the bathroom was clean. When I descended the steps and looked in the living room I noted how clean everything was, the pillows were fluffed, the mantle dusted, the pictures of me were cleaned off and rearranged in a fashionable way.

When I turned around I saw Charlie leaning against the door way to the kitchen with his cup of coffee in hand. He looked back at me with a smile.

"Morning, Bell."

"Good morning." I said walking over beside him.

Shelbie was cooking pancakes, eggs and bacon all while mopping the kitchen floor.

"She's been at this all morning. I thought we told her she didn't need to work for her stay?" He looked back to the kitchen and sniffed the air. "But if she keeps this up, I think we might keep her." He chuckled.

"Good morning Bella!" Shelbie said looking up, "Just in time for breakfast."

She dropped the sponge and piled the pancakes, bacon and eggs on separate plates and laid them out on the table. She was wearing an apron over a black T-shirt and blue jeans, she had her hair braided Native-style with pieces of leather decorated with beads woven in. It was odd; she seemed so normal, so…_happy_.

I sat down at the table without a word while she set plates and silver ware in front of Charlie and me. In the middle of breakfast, after Charlie left for work, there was a knock on the door. I got up to answer it before Shelbie could oblige. She was washing Charlie's plate and grabbed one for herself, sitting down at the table.

Carlisle, Edward and Alice followed me to the kitchen, where Shelbie sat.

"Shelbie, I would like you to meet my father Carlisle." Edward said very formally.

Shelbie turned in her seat to face us and her mouth instantly fell open at the sight of Carlisle. I for one don't blame her. Carlisle was so beautiful, his blonde hair and kind face…but in my opinion, Edward was even _more_ handsome. But Shelbie quickly regained her composure.

"Hello." She said, smiling. She got up from her seat and whipped her hands on her apron before shaking Carlisle's extended hand.

"Why, you're prettier than Alice said you were. It's very nice to meet you." Carlisle greeted Shelbie with a flourish.

Shelbie ducked her head down at the compliment. "I'm not that pretty." She mumbled.

"So how are you doing today?" Carlisle opened his black bag on the kitchen counter, pulling out a stethoscope.

Edward came to sit by me, kissing me on the forehead as he did so.

"I'm doing fine." Shelbie answered, uneasy as Carlisle listened to her heart.

Carlisle nodded and kept listening. Alice had come to stand by Edward and me, all of us watching Shelbie and Carlisle. Shelbie was composed…for the most part. She kept swallowing and looking from us, to Carlisle and back again.

"Alice, Edward, Bella, how about you go into the living room and watch T.V." It wasn't a question; it was an order, "Patient confidentiality." He noted as we left.

All three of us sat on the couch, the T.V. turned up louder than necessary so that the vampires on either side of me could concentrate on what the television said, and not what was going on in the kitchen.

"She seems to be doing better." I said, trying to make small talk.

"Compulsive cleaning and forced happiness isn't 'doing better' Bella." Edward said, "We're going to have to keep an eye on her."

"I agree," Alice said, "For more than one reason." She gave me a sideways glance, we all knew what she meant. That one sentence held so much meaning, more than people could comprehend.

"So you told Carlisle?" I asked.

"Yes, he knows." Edward replied. "We are waiting to see how she handles things, whether or not she will think it was all in her head." Edward grabbed the remote and changed the channel to a ball game.

Edward looked up and turned the television off. Shelbie was in the kitchen, washing dishes and Carlisle was walking toward us.

"Well, everything seems to be fine, just some bruises," Carlisle looked directly at Edward when he said this, "But…I did hear an abnormal heart beat. I want to look into that some more at the hospital. I've discussed it with Shelbie and I am willing to pay for everything she will need." Carlisle smiled.

"Oh, Carlisle!" I said, hugging him. "That would be great! Thank you." We all knew that Shelbie couldn't afford it, he was being such a help.

"Oh, it is the least I could do. Her first appointment is tomorrow at eight."

Shelbie came out from the kitchen and stood in the doorway, "Hey, Bella, what do you think about having a girls night tonight? I'm starting school on Tuesday and technically this is my last day of freedom." She chuckled at this, a hollow sound. Edward was right it did seem forced, almost like she was pretending for our benefit.

"Yeah, that would be fun." I said, trying to keep the pity out of my voice.

"That sounds like a marvelous idea." Carlisle said, clapping his hands together, "I'll be on my way, I'm helping Esme bake some pies." He cleverly lied. "I'll see you at 8:00 tomorrow Shelbie, have a wonderful day." And with that he was out the door.

"Your dad is really nice Edward." Shelbie said, "He didn't have to pay for the stuff."

"Trust me, it was of no inconvenience." Edward reassured her.

The Cullen's had lost of money, when I said "lots" I meant "LOTS". I didn't even want to think about how much. Money just accumulates when you live forever…it also helps when you have a child that has the uncanny ability to predict rises in the stock market. Shelbie, on the other hand, didn't have any money to her name, having spent most of her savings for the plane ticket to get here.

"I need to get my things from the house," Alice finally spoke, "We'll be back in a minuet."

Alice got up to go, but at the door she turned around. "Do you guys want to come?" she asked.

"Um…sure. Bella?" Shelbie was unsure to say the least.

"Why not?" I said in reply. In truth I was a bit jealous. So far I was the only human to be let into the Cullen's secret life. I knew very well that Alice was trying to be nice, but it was still odd to have Shelbie coming along to.

Shelbie took off her apron and folded it with care, setting on the kitchen table to be put away later. When we stepped out onto the porch we saw Rosalie's red convertible in the driveway, sitting right next to my junk of a truck.

"Wow." Shelbie said, "Alice, Edward really, what a piece. I'm surprised this piece of crap runs." She joked as she sat down beside me in the back seat, "You guys should probably try considering other options, something more up to date."

We were soon swerving this way and that on the route to Edward's house. Edward turned onto the almost invisible driveway, the one that I always seem to miss, and I saw Shelbie's mouth open as she took in the sight of the house through breaks in the trees.

"Your car matches your house." Shelbie said in disbelief. No one was sure if she was still joking.

Walking through the doorway and into the great expanse of the front room, Shelbie squealed with delight as she spied the piano on its low platform. She slowly walked toward it, timid, and looked back to Edward before asking, "Can I?"

He nodded with a smile, "You play?"

"Yes," she said, sitting. "I play piano, guitar and violin. Piano is my favorite by far, but the violin teaches you to be gentle." Shelbie lightly ran her fingers along the keys, creating a soft jingle of a sound.

She quickly pulled her hand away from the keys, as if they burned the pads of her fingers. She sat there considering, remembering the tune of something she learned long ago. Taking a deep breath she played a cord, then another. Soon the room was filled with a beautiful melody. But Shelbie then began to sing, her voice, as strong as ever, echoed off of the high ceiling. It was obviously a tune Edward knew; he was humming along, his head by my ear. He put his cold, hard, protective arms around me. We stood there as one, swaying with Shelbie's beautiful voice.

'_Hush- lay down your troubled mind_

_The day has vanished and left us behind_

_And the wind- whispering soft lullabies_

_Will soothe- so close your weary eyes_

_Let your arms unfold us_

_Through the dark of night_

_Will your angels hold us?_

'_Till we see the light'_

Alice came down the stairs (I hadn't even noticed she had gone) holding a bag of essentials.

"Oh…" She looked from Shelbie to Edward, "Edward, it's your favorite."

Alice ran and sat by Shelbie on the piano bench, adding her voice to the song, their voices making a beautiful harmony.

'_Sleep- angels will watch over you_

_And soon beautiful dreams will come true_

_Can you feel spirits embracing your soul?_

_So dream while secrets of darkness unfold_

_Let your arms unfold us_

_(Your arms unfold)_

_Through the dark of night_

_(Through the dark of night)_

_Will your angels hold us?_

_(Will your angels hold?)_

'_Till we see the light_

_La, la, la, la, la, la'_

"How did you know Edward's favorite?" Esme asked from the bottom of the stairs, I hadn't even noticed she was there.

"Oh, um…it's my favorite too. I just…" Shelbie quickly got up and walked over to stand by me. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, dear?" Esme's kind face lit up with a radiant smile, "I'm Esme." She extended her cold hand.

Shelbie sheepishly took it, "I'm Shelbie James."

"It's very nice to meet you. You have a beautiful voice. Where did you learn to play the piano?" Esme asked.

Carlisle came out of his study to stand next to his wife. He wrapped his arm around her waist. "Was that you I heard? That was simply amazing, Shelbie."

"It wasn't that good. It was all Alice in the end." Shelbie said, blushing. "I taught myself to play piano, I can't read music, but I remember notes really well and songs too."

"Yes, well it was very nice meeting you Shelbie." Esme said smiling.

"Oh, yeah. Goodbye! I think your house is beautiful." Shelbie said, returning Esme's smile.

"Thank you." She said waving. Esme pulled me back and gave me a big hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Good morning Bella. You should come over on Thursday. Alice says there is going to be a large thunder storm. We were thinking about playing some ball."

"That would be perfect." I said.

"Great, I love you Bella. Have fun tonight."

In the car, it was quiet for a while, no sound but the air rushing past. Then Shelbie spoke, "Your parents are beautiful." Shelbie mused, "Your mom is really nice, and so young looking."

"We are all adopted." Alice said, telling the story they told everyone. Their excuse as to why Esme and Carlisle are so young with teenage kids when they can barely pass for thirty.

"Oh," Shelbie said after a moment of silence. "People think I'm adopted too, because my parents are so old. Either that or they're my grandparents."

"How is your dad doing?" Edward asked, making conversation.

"He's doing ok. He gets tired to easily."

We let this all sink in. I sat in silence and pondered Shelbie's statement for a while. Her fate and her dad's fate is the same, a vicious cycle that I will succumb to as well. We are born, we grow up and we die. But the Cullen's never will have to endure that, never taste death; the fate that they cheated. Edward could change that for me, though at times I know it seems he never will. Edward would let me die, and it hurts to know this. I want the man I love, who I would give my own life for, to save me.

"…Bella? Bella are you coming?" I heard Shelbie say; we were already at my house.

Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me aside, bringing me close to him. "Emmett, Jasper and I are going hunting. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you, have fun tonight."

"Ever since Shelbie came here, it's like you and I are growing farther apart." I said, unable to hide the emotion in my voice as I said it.

"Oh, I know Bells." He said using the nickname that I hate. "But think about Shelbie, she needs you right now. Bella," he put a cold finger under my chin, lifting it up so I can look at him. "I am trying very hard to keep you safe." His voice cracked a wavered, he was crying without shedding a tear. "I'm trying Bella. I can't stand to know that that _thing_ is trying to get at my girl, the love of my life."

I raised my lips to his, wrapping my arms around his neck, and for the first time, I pulled away first, resting my head on his shoulder. "I love you Edward." I whispered.

"I love you too. Emmett and I are going to be doing surveillance tonight, and I promise that I will start visiting you every night from now on, once Shelbie is out of your room of course." He kissed me lightly on the lips once more and was gone.


	8. Happily Ever After

**Authors note:** **To _Alice1985_: I found something Shelbie is horrible at: technology!**

I walked in the house to find Alice and Shelbie in the living room watching a movie. I came to sit beside Alice. "What are we watching?" I asked off handedly.

"_Interview with the Vampire_," Alice said. I felt my body grow tense, "It's one of Shelbie's favorites, and she brought the movie with her and has the book too." If looks could speak, the one Alice gave me would be screaming on the top of its lungs: Panic.

"I've watched it loads of times. It's a really good movie; it has Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas _and_ Kirsten Dunst." Shelbie said, fiddling with the remote.

"Wow," I was thinking of something to say, to stall. Of all the things that are awkward in the world, watching a movie about vampires _with_ a vampire would be at the top. "Jacob said he wanted to visit you today. We should probably call him over to watch this movie with us."

"That's a great idea!" Shelbie said, managing to find the pause button. "I'll go and get the phone." She got up and went to the kitchen and took the phone up stairs. I guessed that she wanted a private moment with Jacob.

Alice sighed and leaned her head against the back of the couch. "Of all the movies in the entire world." She sighed again, "Dracula…Dracula wouldn't even be as bad as _Interview with the Vampire_."

"Why?" I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Interview with the Vampire was written by a vampire." She took in my shocked expression before she went on. "It was his memoirs, his life story behind a fictional character. He changed a few things of course, to throw people off. But yes, this story is a real one." She paused for a moment, "Maybe you should watch this." She said.

"Why?" I asked again.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

Shelbie came bouncing down the stairs, a little grin on her face, the kind you wear when you're thinking about the things a loved one has said; the kind I wear when Edward tells me he loves me.

"He's driving over. He just fixed the Rabbit and he can't wait to drive it." She said, sitting on the floor; going back to trying to work the remote. She had taken her braids out and her hair fell in dark brown wavy sheets across her back. "Should we invite Edward?"

"He's hunting." I blurted out, instantly regretting it.

Shelbie looked up at me with a puzzled expression. "It's hunting season up here? For what? I didn't know Edward hunts, he doesn't seem the type."

"They're hunting bear." Alice said, speaking the truth as far as we knew, to try and cover up my mistake. "Bears are such a nuisance around here that it's open season all year round."

"Mmm," Shelbie said looking back at the remote. "Bear jerky is good." She held the remote up to her ear and shook it. "I think it needs new batteries." She muttered.

"I'll get you some. What kind do you need?" I offered, glad to do something other than just sit there, being an idiot.

"Double A, please."

I obediently went into the kitchen to begin the search for batteries. What was I thinking, being so stupid? Shelbie was already suspicious about the Cullen's, our lies and misgivings can only lead her astray for a while. Shelbie is smart and sooner or later she will figure things out.

While rummaging through the junk door I looked out the kitchen window just in time to see Jacob pull into the driveway. I grabbed two batteries and went to answer the door.

"Hey Jacob, how are you?" I said, opening to door.

"I'm good Bella. Um, can I talk to you for a sec?" Jacob said. He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and walked through the door. He had on a black wife-beater, the muscle on his arms was the long kind, but they were hard and defined none the less. It was odd seeing Jacob this way, his russet skin was beautiful against the black of his shirt.

"Sure Jacob, this way." I looked in the living room; Shelbie was slowly and deliberately dissecting the remote control, thoroughly distracted. Personally I was glad that Alice was there, she would have some idea of how to put it back together.

We went silently up the stairs to my room. Jacob seemed thoroughly uncomfortable being in my room, but it was the only place I could think of where Shelbie wouldn't be able to hear his deep, husky voice.

"So, what is this about?" I asked, sitting on my bed. I realized that I have been doing a lot of asking today.

"Well…" Jacob rocked back and forth on his heels, "This is kinda weird talking to you about this, but um, when did Edward first tell you he loved you?" Jacob stared at his feet.

"I don't know," and I honestly didn't, "I guess it was this mutual feeling, understanding that we have. We know each other so well we don't always have to say it."

"Oh."

"Why? Did you tell Shelbie that you love her?" I said, prodding.

"Yeah," Jacob said, looking up, smiling. "She told me that she loves me too."

"Then what's the problem?"

"That is the problem, there's no problem, not for us anyway." He sat down on the floor. "I love her a lot Bella."

"_Then what's the_ _**problem**?_" I pressed.

"I'm afraid. Our tribe is very set on rules. To marry," he blushed at the word, "we not only have to ask the father of the bride for her hand, but we must get the council's blessing as well. My father is on the council, and he loves Shelbie like a daughter, he told me so. I'm sure that he could sway a few of the council members, they respect him. Though, I'm not sure why," he mused. "Anyway, if I marry someone from another tribe, our child can't have membership to both tribes." He looked at me, tears in his eyes. "I would be willing to marry Shelbie. But I'm afraid about what the council will say."

"Oh, Jacob." Was all I could say.

"I'll wait until we're graduated, of course." He said reassuring me. "But I also wanted to know…is Shelbie really ok?"

"I honestly don't know Jacob." I said. "What happened, it was traumatic to say the least. It's going to be a while until she is our Shelbie again. Don't worry Jake; just be there for her, she needs your shoulder to lean on. I wouldn't worry too much about the council either. All Shelbie will have to do is bat those eyelashes of hers, smile, laugh and she will win them over with her personality."

"Yeah, she would, huh?" Jacob said, smiling.

"Lets go back down stairs, Shelbie need's these batteries."

"Shelbie, guess who's here!" I said once we were down the stairs.

"Jacob!" she yelled, running to him. I barely got out of the way.

She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He kissed her nose delicately and chuckled. "So, you're happy to see me?" he said, being sarcastic.

"No, not really." She said smiling. "I think I fixed the remote, so we can start the movie now." She jumped down and, holding hands, led Jacob over to the couch. Alice moved down to sit by me on the floor.

"Ok," I said, taking a deep breath. "Lets start the movie." And with that I pushed play.

Once the movie was done I turned it off. "Wow." I said turning to face Alice.

"Shhh." Jacob said, putting a finger to his lips. Jacob was lying down on the couch; Shelbie was on top of him, her head on his chest, fast asleep. With his free hand he twirled a piece of her hair around his finger.

"It was about time she crashed." Alice whispered, "After all that cleaning."

"I think I'll lay with her a bit." Jacob whispered back.

"Don't let us stop you." I said, "Alice and I were going to go into the kitchen."

I turned the channel to a football game for Jacob to watch and Alice and I headed for the kitchen. "I think I get why you wanted me to watch that movie." I said.

"And why is that?" Alice crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned against the counter.

"When Louis made that woman a vampire for Claudia, it took what was the last bit of sympathy for mortal life, the last bit of his mortal self. He became his maker; he became Lustat, even if it was just for that moment. But he did it because he loved Claudia. Oh, Alice I don't know!" I was slowly getting frustrated with myself.

"No, you've got it right. But there is more." She said, being allusive.

"Then tell me!" I said, slamming my fist on the counter. I had waited too long for the answer.

"That is still for you to find out, so you can understand Edward's point of view. In relationships you are supposed to compromise and relate. Until then do you really think that you and Edward are going to live happily ever after?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but a blood curdling scream that came from the living room interrupted me and chilled me to the bone. I was frozen with fear.

**Another Authors note: I really do recommend the movie _Interview with the Vampire_. It's a good movie and I was surprised at how the vampires from Twilight and the movie are so similar. **


	9. Many Tears

**Author's note:** **In my mind Jacob looks like the Lakota actor Eddie Spears. Look him up, he is fine! At least that is what I see Jacob looking like.**

Alice and I bolted into the living room, where we found Shelbie, her eyes closed, screaming her guts out. Jacob was trying to hold her to him, trying to calm her down by saying like a mantra, "Its okay, Shelbie. It's just a dream. It's okay Shelbie. It's just a dream…" wiping the tears that were streaming down her cheeks off her face.

"What the hell happened?" I screamed.

"She's having a nightmare, she just started screaming." Jacob was visibly shaken and seemed near to crying himself.

Shelbie finally woke herself up with the screaming and fell in a sobbing heap in Jacob's arms, but something was wrong. "Shelbie, are you ok?" I asked.

She brought herself up, shaking her head. She was breathing shallowly. "I can't breathe," she gasped, panicked.

"She's hyperventilating." Alice said. I recalled Edward saying something about Alice having a PhD. "Shelbie you are going to have to calm down. Just breathe with me."

"I can't!" She was struggling, we all could see it. The edges of her lips were slowly growing blue.

"Shelbie, you need to breathe with me. You're going to pass out if you don't slow your breathing down." Alice said.

"My hands are tingly!" Shelbie squawked in fear. The look in her eyes, it was painful to look into them, such fear.

"Shelbie," Alice said nearly screaming, "You need to breathe with me." Alice took a couple of deep breaths. Shelbie struggled to do the same.

"I feel dizzy." She gasped.

"Jacob sit behind her and hold her up, Bella go and call 911." She turned to Shelbie, taking her hand and putting it on her own chest. "I can feel you breathing." Alice put her hand on Shelbie's chest. "And you can feel me breathing. So let's concentrate on breathing together."

I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the phone, fumbling through the number. I finally got a hold of someone.

"911 what is your emergency?" a man's voice came over the phone.

"Hi, I'm Bella Swan. My friend Shelbie can't breathe, she just can't!" I nearly screamed. I almost couldn't tell that it was my voice, it was so hysteric.

"Alright Bella I need you to calm down. The ambulance is on its way."

"Thank you." I cried, hanging up, "The ambulance is coming!" I yelled running back to the living room.

Just as I arrived, Shelbie's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she slumped over. "Shelbie," Alice said, soothing, as if she were coaxing a child out from a corner. "Shelbie wake up." She leaned Shelbie's head back on Jacob's shoulder and put her ear close to her mouth.

"She's breathing," Alice confirmed, "but just barely, her pulse is weak." She started to lightly slap Shelbie on the cheek. "Come on Shelbie, wake up sweetie."

I could hear sirens in the back ground, they were close. "Jacob, stay here with Shelbie, I'm calling Carlisle. Bella, open the door for the EMT's." Alice said, taking her cell phone out of her pocket.

Jacob laid Shelbie flat on her back and began to gently slap her face. "Wake up, baby." Jacob cried, a tear falling off his nose. "I'm going to be lost without you." He sobbed. "You need to wake up."

I put a hand to my cheek and felt wetness there; I hadn't even noticed that I was crying. I left the door wide open and ran to be by Jacob's side.

"Bella, she's not waking up." Jacob looked at me with tear filled eyes.

"I know Jacob." I sputtered. The paramedics came in then, carrying the gurney with them.

"Move aside please." One said. He was a portly man with a large handle bar mustache. The other one was younger, maybe in his twenties.

The younger one hoisted Shelbie onto the gurney and began to rub his knuckles on her collarbone. "What's her name?" he asked.

Jacob and I answered in unison. "Shelbie."

"Wake up Shelbie, come on." For a moment her eyes fluttered open for a moment, like they were too heavy to keep open at all. "She's responsive," the younger one said to the man with the mustache. "I'll start the truck."

"Has she taken any drugs? Is she on any medication of any kind?" Jacob and I answered "no." The man with the mustache put an oxygen mask over Shelbie's mouth and nose and with the younger one's help, got the gurney up and out side, into the truck. "We'll take good care of her." The men reassured us.

As they drove off to the hospital, Alice came to stand by us outside. "I called Carlisle; he knows that she's coming and that we are going to the hospital. Edward and Emmett got back from hunting and will meet us there." She said, getting into the convertible.

I grabbed Jacob's hand, gave it a squeeze and let him to the car. Billie and Charlie arrived at the hospital shortly after we did. Billie wheeled himself over to where Jacob was sitting, putting a hand on Jacob's shoulder. His son in turn, pulled Billie into a hug and sobbed on his fathers shoulder, just like I was crying on Edward's. A few of Jacob's brothers and his sister came later, I was surprised at how supportive they were of Jacob, how much they cared for him and Shelbie. From what I heard, Jacob's sister thought of Shelbie as apart of the family. Quil and Embrey came an hour later.

All that was left for us to do was wait.


	10. Nightmares

Carlisle came around the corner; all of us were excited to hear how Shelbie was doing. Edward and Alice left shortly after the rest of the Blacks arrived, but at the moment even Billie forgot his prejudice against the Cullen's as Carlisle came to sit. All were uneasy, for various reasons.

"Well, what had happened, from what Shelbie had told me, she had a panic attack, it's a sudden feeling of terror, and it has symptoms along with it: hyperventilation, trembling, dizziness, lightheadedness, chest pain and some others. We have done some tests, an EKG, which is a heart scan, and an IPO Cardio Gram, with is an ultrasound of the heart. With the result of these tests I have made the diagnosis that Shelbie has _mitral valve prolapse_, which is to say that, some of the valves in her heart don't close all the way, allowing some regurgitation of blood. Your heart has four chambers, all working together to get your blood where it needs to go, there are four valves, and all of Shelbie's valves don't close how they should. She can go home tonight, if you would like, but we have given her a heart monitor," Carlisle pulled what looked like a pager out of his pocket, "This is it. The size of a pager, but a computer, she puts this in her pocket and she'll ware a lead over her heart and when she feels her heart racing she pushes this button on the monitor and it records what her heart is doing, sending the results to us to study." Carlisle rose to leave; Charlie rose with him and shook his hand. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot, I will be paying for all of Shelbie's medical needs from now on." And before he could get an answer or praise he left.

"That was nice of him." Charlie said, "He didn't have to pay for her out of his own pocket." This comment got a discussed snort from Billie.

"Come on Bells, let's go home. Shelbie can stay with you for the night Billie." Charlie said.

"It's going to be okay, Jake." I said giving Jacob a big bear hug around the middle.

"Thanks Bella, I'll call you tomorrow." He said, hugging me back.

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I was running, running through a forest I didn't recognize; the wind whipping my face. I broke through the trees coming to the edge, a rocky precipice, all before me was dark, and all was quiet. Then, high above me, a loud crack of lightning shook the silence. The lightning bolt seemed to tear a hole in the sky, a sickly gash that spewed red, soon it seemed like the whole sky was bleeding.

I heard another sound behind me, and I spun around to see what it was. There stood Alessandro at the edge of the forest, pearly, white skin gleaming in all purity, though everything around us was bathed in a red light. I took a step back from him, his eyes, white and blind looking, stared at me with an intensity I could not describe.

"_Though torn she will be,_

_The savage will betray thee,_

_My Isabella._

_Beware the wolves,_

_They are ravenous and hungry…._

_Come to me my love_."

He reached out his hand, has he did so it became covered in thick, matted fur, long claws replacing his fingernails. I took two more steps back.

"_What do you want with me?_" I screamed, but my voice was carried off on the bitter wind, it smelled of salt….like an ocean.

But his reply was drowned out but the melody that was playing on the air, humming in my ears. It sounded vaguely familiar…like I had heard it before. Words where swirling all around me, a voice, and a beautiful, angelic sound. But try as I might, I could catch only a few words.

"…_let your arms_..._angels will watch…beautiful dreams…embracing your…see the light…_"

The voice was hauntingly familiar, Alessandro nodded his head. Then he stepped out from the shadows, turning into that hideous nightmare of a creature. I shuffled backward, my foot finding the edge, causing me to fall into the abyss of darkness, the den of nightmares, and even worse: …realities.

I woke with a start, nearly screaming when Edward, lying beside me, made his presence known.

"Oh, _Edward_!" I gave a harsh whisper.

"You had a nightmare," it wasn't a question. "You said 'Alessandro', and started mumbling about angels."

"I was so scared, it was so real." I whispered back. Then, in great detail, I told Edward everything about the dream. He sat there for a long while, nodding. Then he finally spoke.

"In some cultures, especially the Native American, Aborigine and Asian cultures, dreams have much meaning. They are signs from the spirit world, from Heaven…from Hell, telling us the path we should take or what will happen to us. You told Alice that Shelbie said she felt stuck when that truck was coming. To be honest it was harder than usual to move her, like she really was frozen…beyond terror. That's where she got those bruises, they weren't from me; I didn't hold her close to my body because I knew I would hurt her. You told me that before she had passed out that she had a nightmare. Could it be that Alessandro has powers like how Alice can see a glimpse of the future and I can hear people's thoughts? Maybe he has more power than we realized."

"That's comforting." I sighed, laying my head on his shoulder, taking comfort from him being there.

"Yeah." He said, terror seized me, for the first time, Edward seemed unsure.

I slept soundly through the rest of the night, safe that I knew Edward was by my side. It was Monday and I drove to La Push to pick Shelbie up from the Black's house, she had school tomorrow.

"Hey Shelbie, are you ready to go?" I asked once inside the house, out of the rain.

"Yeah, just a sec." her and Jacob went into his bedroom to get her "hair-tie". I let them take their time, I understood. Billie was away, gone fishing with Harry Clearwater; they would seize their chance for a proper good-bye when the opportunity presented itself. I also did not miss the lead that was now stuck to her chest.

"Alright, I'm ready to go." She said, walking to the door, "I'll see you tomorrow at school Jake." She said softly, like those few hours where as long as a thousand years. I saw the hint of sadness in his eyes as well.

"We'll take good care of her Jacob." I waved good-bye.

It was quiet in the truck, Shelbie didn't start a conversation and I wasn't about to, but something had to be done. I pulled over onto the side of the road, and turned to face Shelbie, cutting the engine.

"Shelbie, you're like the little sister I never had, I want you to feel comfortable coming to me and talking to me about whatever you need to…so I was wondering, um, what was your nightmare about?" I looked at her for a reaction. She had looked me in the eye, until I asked my question, turning to look out the window.

"It's stupid, you'll laugh. I don't know why I got so scared." She mumbled, "It was about monsters." She whispered.

"What kind of monsters?" I whispered back, just as quiet; fearing the answer.

She looked at me then, tears in her beautiful green eyes, "Vampires and werewolves, and another monster. It had blank white eyes, but I could feel it looking at me, like it was reading into my soul. The sky was red, and I was down at the beach in La Push. But the thing that scared me was that I wasn't afraid of any of them, just that thing with the strange eyes. The Werewolves especially liked me, and the vampires and werewolves seemed to be protecting Me." she looked down at her hands folded on her lap, "You think I'm silly, huh?"

"No, no, not at all." I said with conviction. I meant it because I knew it was real, at least the Alessandro and vampire part. But if they were real, why couldn't werewolves? This got me to thinking, our dreams were so similar.

"Let's just go to the store, you'll need your school stuff." I said, changing the conversation as I pulled back onto the road.

"Yeah, I'm excited." Shelbie said, a smile spreading across her face. "Quill said that 'If anyone messes with my sister, they'll have to mess with me too'" she imitated his voice, making us both laugh. "Quill and Embry spent the night last night too. It was fun just hanging out with my friends and being myself, you know?" She said, becoming the Shelbie I know and love.

All I knew was I had to tell Edward what was going on, and confirm his greatest fear, the fear that his enemy might just be more powerful.


	11. Twelve Roses

**Author's note: It starts out as Bella's POV then switches to Shelbie POV for a while. And thanks for the flower idea, _edwardluvbella_!**

It had been three months and nothing had happened. Things come and go, the leaves change colors and fall, and soon the ground is covered in the soft white of new snow. There was no sign of Alessandro. No strange dreams, no more me jumping at shadows, everything was alright, Edward was by my side.

**Shelbie's POV:**

I woke in the early morning, looking at a wood ceiling, panels of cedar that I had studied time after time. I was at Jacob's house in his sister's old room. I gave a loud sigh as I realized that it was only a Friday and I had to get ready for school. Living with Jacob over the week wasn't as awkward as I had first thought it would be, it was like we were sharing an apartment together….with a paralyzed man. But I loved Jacob's dad, so it was fine with me.

I sat up and put my foot on the carpet, looking in the small mirror on the wall in front of me. _Wow, sexy_, I thought as I tried to tame by bed head. It was then that I noticed the flowers on my dresser. I gasped and ran over to them, twelve red roses. It must have cost Jacob a fortune! Inspecting the flowers closer I saw a fake one in their midst. I pulled it out of the bouquet, feeling the fabric petals. It was odd, and then I saw the card on the table. My name was scrawled on the front in Jacob's handwriting.

"I will love you until the last flower dies…" I read aloud, tears filling my eyes. Jacob really knew how to play with my heart.

I got ready like usual, waiting until the last moment to see Jacob. I got in the passenger seat of the Rabbit like I did every day, not looking at Jake, acting coy. Finally, not able to stand it anymore, I turned and planted a kiss on his cheek; I could feel him blushing under my lips.

"That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever given me, thank you so much Jacob." I said; laughing, licking his cheek, I knew how he hated that.

"You're welcome." He said, whipping his cheek with the back of his hand.

"Anytime." I grabbed his hand to hold as we made our way to school.

School went by like usual, the teachers where _all_ white and _all_ determined to educate even the most stubborn of us savages, I didn't like any of them and I made my opinions known. But even my hatred didn't stop me from getting excellent grades…Jacob on the other hand needed my help, so did Quill and some of the other boys. They often came to Jake's house with us and I would help them with their homework, all except for Embry. He had been keeping to himself for the past month and now he didn't even show up at school, he hadn't been in school all this week.

Lunch went by like it always had, Quill flexing in front of Nancy Cloudier and all her friends, Jacob flirting with me non stop (not that I mind) and eventually Ben had to be sent to the nurse's office because Quill shoved a French fry up his nose and it was stuck. Then Quill got suspended for the rest of the day; all in all, a normal day on the rez.

So I was surprised when Jacob seemed upset on the way home. "Jacob, what's bothering you?" I asked, unable to stand it anymore.

"It's Embry. Quill said that he wasn't talking to him either. No one picks up the phone at his house anymore. I'm really worried, Shelbie."

"Oh, Jacob." I said, squeezing his knee. "It's going to be okay."

"That's what I keep telling myself." He said as we pulled into the garage.

He quickly got out and opened the car door for me, and then he put his hands over my eyes, leading me to the house.

"What are you doing Jacob?" I asked, trying to peel his hands off so I could see.

"You'll see…" he said.

I could hear him struggling with the door; upon opening it he dropped his hands and yelled "Tada!"

Hershey's Kisses were strewn all over the floor, and there were balloons tied onto the kitchen chair. I picked up another card and read it aloud.

"I kiss the ground you walk on…" I sighed and turned to face Jacob. "Oh, Jake!" I said.

"Happy three in a half month anniversary! I had Quill stop by and do this for me. It wasn't easy, I lost a twenty….but it was worth it." He bent down and kissed my neck, slipping my book bag off of my shoulder.

"Happy anniversary to us…" I sang, biting his ear playfully.

Billy wasn't here, probably ice fishing on the lake with Charlie and Harry…a two hour drive, and as I glanced at the clock, Charlie only got off of work about an hour ago.

Jacob led me down the hallway and into his room, gently peeling off my jacket, the same way I was taking off his. I turned him around and sat him down on his bed, placing my legs on either side of him.

I felt his warm hand go part way up my shirt and half way down my pants, this sudden move made me gasp. I could really feel his power as he turned me over to lay me on my back on his bed. His hand fingered the edge of my shirt, lifting it to reveal my stomach. Jake looked at me then to see if it was okay, when I didn't object he brought my shirt the rest of the way over my head, kissing my neck once my shirt was dropped on the floor.

Ecstasy was coursing through my body; a deep yearning filled my stomach mixed with something else, fear. I was afraid of where this was going, yet I rose up to meet it. Jacob's hands unclasped my bra, peeling it off to reveal my chest. Then he went from kissing my lips to my neck, collar bone, bringing his tongue in between the mountains of my breasts, bringing it back up to suckle on the nipple he found there. A moan escaped from between my lips, edging him on, to the point where I thought I would explode with the feeling and intensity of it. I grabbed the edge of his shirt, pulling it over his head, and then I got up to kiss his stomach as I unbuttoned his pants, pulling them off. Jacob in turn laid me back down to take my jeans off. Thank God that I was wearing my lace thong, he proceeded to pull my underwear off with his teeth.

"Oh, Jake." I screamed, letting everything go. I pulled him closer to me. He was so hot, burning; his skin was burning on top of me.

Suddenly, yet slowly, letting the moment last, he was inside me. We were one, that spiritual moment that the bible describes as the point where two souls are joined for eternity. And that was what I wanted, to be joined to Jacob forever.

**Two hours later……..**

I pulled up my pants, buttoning the top button on my jeans while talking on the phone at the same time, Jacob was in the shower.

"Hey, Bella….Yeah, I'm ready to go, I've got all my things packed….yeah I know what you mean…" I laughed, "Okay, I'll see you in a second….alright, bye."

When I looked up Jacob was leaning in the doorway, wearing just a towel, his black hair fell in dripping sheets on his shoulders. "Is Bella coming to pick you up?" he asked sounding sad.

"Yeah," I said, walking over to him and kissing him gently, his lips and skin were hot. Too hot, it was beyond normal skin temperature, "I always hate these moments." I said in all honesty.

I put my hands on his hips, tempted to take his towel off, but thought better of it. He read my mind though and let the towel fall to the ground, a smile spreading across his face.

"Oh, put some clothes on," I said giving him a wink, "I'm sure Bella doesn't want to see you in your birthday suit."

"But _you_ like it."

"Yeah, and I'm also your girlfriend. Get some pants on." I went to my room and smelled my roses before I grabbed some clothes from my dresser and put them in my bag and went to go to my living room to wait for Bella. I was relieved to see Jacob in a pair of jeans when there was a knock on the door.

I half limped, half walked to answer the door, my body hurt all over. I opened the door to reveal Bella. Her brown hair was wet and dripping from the rain. I hadn't even noticed that it was raining, the sounds Jake and I were making had been distracting enough.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah, one second." I said, pulling my hair up into a half-assed pony tail.

I walked over to Jacob and felt his forehead. "Jacob, it's like you have a fever." I said worried.

"I'm fine, babe. I feel great, fit as a fiddle." He said.

"Bella, feel his forehead. He can't be fine. Maybe I should stay."

"No, Billie will be home anytime now and he'll know what to do. Go with Bella, I'll be fine I promise." He said, grabbing my arm and pulling me close, his chest felt like it was on fire. He bent down and kissed me, I nearly gasped as I tasted his tongue, the burning desire I had felt only hours before raised up once again in my stomach. But for the first time, I didn't care that Bella was right there it was as if Jacob and I knew we loved each other and we didn't care who else did. It was like since we had already made love to prove how we felt, it was an understanding that we should let everyone know.

Bella made a polite cough in the corner of the kitchen, "Um, Shelbie?"

"Yeah, okay. Um, tell Billie how you're feeling when he gets home, okay?" I made Jake promise.

"Alright, I love you," he said. The sadness in his was almost tangible.

"I love you too." I said, grabbing my bag and walking out into the rain. I looked back as I walked to see Jacob standing in the doorway, it looked like there were tears running down his cheeks, and I could feel my own tears overflowing.

When we pulled away I had a burning question to ask Bella, but was embarrassed to ask. "Um, Bella,"

"Mmm?"

"Have you and Edward, um, you know….had sex?" I whispered the last part.

"No." she said calmly, but I could hear the hint of hysteria in her voice, "Why? Have you and Jacob….?"

"Yeah." I fought the urge to hide my face, "Today, after school." I said. Then I told her about the Hershey's Kisses and the roses.

"That sounds so cute!" she said, "Um, were you guys, protected?"

"No, we were just caught up in the moment, you know? I'm not even sure Jake has a condom." I said, suddenly afraid of what I had done, but not regretting it for one moment.

"I don't know what we are going to do about that." Bella said, biting her lower lip.

"Can we stop at the store then and get some condoms and an E.P.T?" I asked. It was surprisingly easy to talk to Bella about this. She really was like a sister to me, with Alice as a close second.

We drove to the store, talking like we normally did, but Bella was smart we drove to Port Angeles where no one would recognize us. We walked into Rite Aid together, going straight to the pharmacy department.

"How about these?" Bella asked pointing at a box of condoms.

"Too small," I said, blushing. I grabbed another box instead.

"You do realize that those are cherry flavored, right?" she whispered.

"Yep," I said, blushing even more.

Then we headed for the pregnancy isle. I grabbed the first one I saw. I blew out the breath I had been holding the whole time, relieved that this excursion was almost over. As I rounded the corner I collided with someone coming from the opposite direction, my items all fell to the floor in front of me.

"I am so sorry!" The person said, and then they looked up, "Shelbie?" She asked.

_Oh, God in heaven_, "Elizabeth?" I asked. It was one of my friends for Kettle Falls. Oh, no…. "What are you doing here?" I asked, almost frantic.

"Its Christmas vacation at home and I drove down here to visit you, you said that Forks was a small town so I decided to ask around and find you." She spied the items that I had been trying to hide, that where now dumped all over the floor. Embarrassing. "Oh, my God!" she looked up at me in shock.

I grabbed her by her shirt and pulled her in the isle with me, no one was around and Bella leaned over and picked up my things off of the floor.

"Was it that Indian boy?" She stage whispered. I gave her a good sock on the arm, "Owww!"

"What is it with you people? Is Jess Shimmals your best friend now or something?" I accused, Elizabeth used to be my best friend.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. But what the hell are you doing with those!" she asked, pointing at the cherry flavored condoms.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing with these?" I half yelled.

"No way," Elizabeth said. "Are you…..pregnant?" she whispered.

"No, I'm not pregnant!" I got up and took my stuff out of Bella's arms. "Are you coming or not?" I asked after Elizabeth, she silently got up and walked behind us. "Elizabeth this is my friend Bella, Bella this is Elizabeth." I made the quick introductions.

"Hi," Elizabeth said.

I walked over to the express isle and set my things on the counter. It was just my luck that the casher was male and about Bella's age. Great. He kept on looking at me funny, giving me the "sexy face" when he picked up the condoms. I glared at him in return, just daring him to say something.

"So, is this _all_ I can do for you?" he asked, and I knew what he was implying.

"Yep, sorry. I don't date pimple-faced white guys." I gave him a twenty and quickly grabbed my change before heading out the door.

I was relieved when I was back in Bella's truck. "Just follow us." I said, to Elizabeth. She nodded and ran back to her car. Soon we were on our way back to Bella's house. Oh, what have I got myself into?


	12. Knowing

**Authors note:**** I am so sorry for the wait! Ok, this chapter jumps a month ahead…don't be surprised that things have changed a little…oops. Said too much….**

* * *

"Okay," I said to Shelbie through the door to the bathroom. "Just pee on it, how hard could it be to pee on a stick?" I had to admit, I was rather impatient.

"Fine Bella, how about you come in here and do it!" She yelled back, Elizabeth, Shelbie's friend, stood beside me giggling.

Elizabeth had been here for about a week and a half on her Christmas break. Shelbie came out of the bathroom, holding the EPT in her hand, a tissue in the other, tears streaming down her face. Elizabeth stopped giggling then, shock spread across her face.

"Oh, Shelbie," I said, my hands covering my mouth.

"I'm not pregnant!" Shelbie screamed, sobbing, giving Elizabeth and me a bear hug.

"That great!" I said, stunned, left with nothing else to say.

"I know!" Shelbie said lying on her back, sighing with relief. "Life can go back to normal!"

* * *

**January**

"Shelbie's moving in with us for good!" Billy said. Though he was confined to a wheelchair, his presence dwarfed the room.

"That's not happening Bill. I made promises to her mother! The report cards are sent here, the notices of her _week_ not attending school, even though she said that's where she was going. I let her stay at your house because I knew she would go to school, and I knew that I could rely on you, Billy, _you _to send her there!" Charlie's face was red with anger.

I was standing in the living room watching the spectacle taking place in the kitchen, hearing the steps creak I looked up to see Shelbie's big green eyes staring towards the kitchen. Her face was blocked by the shadow of the bars, but you could still see the slightest bit of pain in her face. She looked at me then, a piercing look, and then in a flash she was up the stairs to finish packing her things.

"First you tell me that Jacob was sick, then you tell me that Shelbie is sick 'no they don't need to go to the hospital' you say. You won't let Shelbie come here, won't let Bella go over there. What's going on Billy? Now you want to take her away! What is your problem?" Charlie shot back.

I finally couldn't take the noise, so I climbed the stairs to check on Shelbie. I opened the door slightly, then all the way knocking as I did. "So what's really going on Shelb?" I asked, even before Billy called to tell us that Shelbie was "sick" she had been acting a little hostile.

Standing in front of her suitcase on the bed Shelbie was shaking, finally letting out a sob. "Oh, you know why Bella. You know."

I ran to her side, prepared to give her a hug, but just like that she pushed me out of the way. "Don't, Bella. Not now, I can't talk to you ever again, see you ever again," she leaned against the door, her words barely audible, "be friends _ever_ again."

"What are you talking about?" I whispered, highly confused.

She turned sharply to face me. I was surprised to see the grief and anger on her face. "I want to be your friend! But I'm supposed to hate you!" She yelled shaking her head.

"Why? Why are you supposed to hate me, Shelbie? Talk to me!"

"I'm hate you, because of _him_."

"Who's him?"

"Edward. Edward Bella." She sighed, turning away. "I know."

My heart stopped beating.


	13. Dreaming Wide Awake

Authors Note: For those of you confused by the last chapter PLEASE send me a message and I will try my best to clear things up with you, without revealing too much about the plot

**Authors Note:**** For those of you confused by the last chapter PLEASE send me a message and I will try my best to clear things up for you, without revealing too much about the plot! And as another note, I'm very sorry that I haven't written in over a year….there have been some things going on with my family so I haven't been able to write. I hope you all forgive me!**

"So you just let her leave? Just like that?" I asked confused, after Billy and Shelbie had exited the house, I was still shaken. "You just let her go with Billy?"

"Yeah, Bella, I let her go." Charlie said, putting his head between his knees.

I stood staring at the closed door. She knew. Shelbie knew about the Cullen's' ...what would be the appropriate word? Vampirism? "So she's gone."

"Yes, Bella she's gone!" Charlie snapped.

"I-I just-I- was that the best thing?"

"I don't know Bells…I don't know…" and with that Charlie loped up the stairs to bed. And I followed suit.

Just shortly after I crawled under the covers, I heard soft foot steps on the floor and cold lips on my cheek.

"I haven't seen you all day, beautiful." Edward whispered into my ear. "How was your day?"

I snorted at his question. An innocent, sweet, little question that on any other "normal" day would be a trifle thing. But today, today was different.

"Oh, the usual." I said, delaying the moment, trying to conjure up the right words.

"The 'usual'" Edward said, breaking the sentence in two and saying each word.

'Oh, God!' I thought, 'he knows', "Um, well, you see….Shelbie's gone. She's living with Billy permanently."

"Oh, that's a shame. I can't come over and visit her as often, you know I'm still worried about her heart-"

"That's not the only thing you need to worry about with her."

"What do you mean?" he asked, concern sweeping across his angel face.

"She knows. About you…about your family…Oh, It's entirely my fault!"

He held me as I wept.

"Has she been acting funny before this? I have noticed she'd act distant whenever I came over…is anything strange going on in the rez?" he asked.

"Charlie mentioned something about a gang…said that Shelbie and Jacob had joined up. They called him to the school to tell him. But it was odd, he said. They where congratulating him on Shelbie joining up. Something about how the school was all about "The Protectors" pride." I closed my eyes, all this talking was making me even more confused.

"It's funny that I didn't detect any wavering in her thoughts…although I noticed that she was more careful about what she was thinking when she was around me, like she knew of my abilities. But it'll be fine Bella, as long as she doesn't tell anyone…of course everyone on the rez knows anyway." He said with a grim chuckle.

"I think Billie told her." I said at last. "Told her one of the legends…and after that night in Seattle, she put the pieces together and knew it was all real." I said, with a slight sense of horror rising in my stomach.

"Story book monsters come to life. I don't blame her that she left." He said bitterly.

"But you're not monsters! You're just misunderstood." I turned to face Edward. "I lost my friend." I said at last, tears filling my eyes.

"I know sweetheart. It will all be better with sleep. Sleep my darling, and in the morning you'll think this was all just a bad nightmare. I'll come and pick you up in the morning and bring you to Carlisle so we can all discuss this and he can calm your fears…"

The musical sound of Edward's voice was so soothing and enchanting that Bella was asleep before Edward said "I love you."

I was running through the forest again…break-neck speed…I was flying. I heard wolves howling all around me, the noise deafening. Through the trees I saw a silhouette. As I came closer I could see her.

Shelbie stood before me in traditional dress: buckskin leggings and a buckskin dress covered her beautiful russet skin. At her side stood a wolf; the source of all the howling. I tried to yell at her, tell her to move away from the vicious creatures, but my voice was drowned out by the growling of the wolf in front of me. Then a warm wind started blowing in my ear…a jumped when I noticed that it was Alessandro holding me in his arms, breathing in my ear.

"I told you my Angel…

She betrayed you…

Stay with me love……."

Again I heard singing. The song in its entirety, and I knew now where it was coming from….

I looked up and Shelbie was still standing there, one hand placed lovingly on the wolf's head, singing to me.

That's the moment when things started to come together…when things started to make sense…..

I woke with a start; a ragged sound was echoing in my room…I felt cold hands on my face whipping the tears and cold sweat off of my face. Edward was there, trying to comfort me, but I could barely hear his soothing words over the loud ripping and ragged sounds in the room. With shock I realized the sound was coming from me, my choked and gurgling sobs. I grabbed Edward's shirt and buried my face in the fabric, taking in the scent. His cold arms wrapped around me in a protective cocoon of comfort.

"You're fine my love. I'm here…I'm here…your safe." Edward cooed in my ear, cradling me to his chest like a baby.

"What was your dream about?" Edward asked once I had calmed down; he still held me to his chest.

"I don't remember…." I said, struggling to recall my dream. "I just remember that Shelbie was in it….and there was this wolf….I don't remember much else." I said, feeling stupid for making such a fuss.

"Well you were singing. Muttering really…but the parts you did sing were quite beautiful." Edward smiled, his crooked smile gleaming even in the dark.

"I was singing?" I said, unbelieving.

"Yes. I think we need to talk to Carlisle. Now." Edward said, growing tense. Cold and hard like stone.

"Why? What is it?" I asked; even though I was whispering I could here the bit of hysteria in my voice.

"Something's coming." He hissed.

Oh God.

Suddenly we were flying. The wind blew by my ears in a rush, a low moaning, a constant voice in my ear. It was like a dream I'd had. I didn't know when, but I just remember the running…the speed. It was all so slow, even though I knew we were moving faster than human eyes could see. To a person standing idly by, we would have been a blur. In a flash Edward had the window open and closed, he hit the ground running, me still cradled like a child in his arms.

"Edward!" I shrieked. Under the cover of the forest the trees came at me trough the darkness. It seemed like Edward was missing them by inches, swerving at the last minute.

Many things happened at once. I felt Edward hold me closer, a deep, fierce growl emanating from his chest; the vibrations making it hard to breathe. I saw a pair of white, blank, angry eyes looking at us. They bore into me; whatever it was it was like it was trying to see right thru me, right into my soul. Then there was the smell. Rot, stinking death. A cadaver left in the sun to melt, to decompose; I gagged.

Edward sidestepped to avoid the creature and ran faster than he ever had before. Pushing forward, trying to get me to safety. I could hear the creature's pursuit, its stinking breath on the back of our necks it seemed. But suddenly there was more than one set of paws.

Oh God! More?

I looked behind me in time to see a monstrous wolf, the size of a horse at least, tackle the creature. There was the sound of a tree splintering into bits under the weight of the animals; the monsters.

The sound of howl's and snarls erupted behind us, filling the void that Edward left between us with his running. I could see the light of the Cullen's house thru the breaks in the trees. A feeling of relief washed over me, Edward was safe. We were here with the rest of our family of Vampires, we were safe.

Edward ran thru the already opened door. Emmet closed it behind us. I looked around the room to see a collage of faces positioned in various degrees of shock, horror, and fear.

Edward sat me gently on the couch; Esme grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders. I looked at Edward's face, worry creasing the corners of his eyes, his forehead…all I could do was wonder how the perfect marble stone of his face could fold.

"You're fine Bella. You're safe love, I'm here, we're fine." His cool fingertips brushed something wet from my cheek: tears.

"Edward." I choked. "What's happening?"


	14. I Was Ment To Follow You

**Authors Note:**** This is all in Shelbie's POV. It starts back a little before Chapter 12**

Jake and I walked hand in hand up the road to the top of the cliffs by First Beach. The moon was full and its light fell daintily on the rushing waves 50 feet below, their sound as soothing as a lullaby at this late hour. Soon I had to let go of Jake's hand and wipe my sweat off on my jeans. Jake was always so hot, his skin smoldered.

I had been let in on his secret, the secret of the tribe. It was hard at first….hard to understand. They had kept me from Jake, kept him from me. "It's too dangerous" Billy had said, there was sadness in his eyes that had mirrored mine. "Jake just has to find himself, get under control." Sam had said. Sam was the leader, just a kid really, barely in his twenties. "I'll wait with you" Emily had said, a smile on her face, the side of her beautiful face that _could_ smile anyway. Emily was Sam's girlfriend, she helped me understand why Jake and I had to be parted…the evidence of how dangerous it was were forever on her face; three long, deep scars that ran along her face down her arm to her wrist. All it took was one moment, a little thing for Jake to be angry about and he could explode, and I would be dead.

I had tried to spend time at Billy's, sitting by myself, doing homework. I ended up going to Bella's more often, that house wasn't empty. Not like Billy's since Jacob was gone "getting under control". That was better, but even Bella could see that I wasn't really myself. I had to leave there too…what little I knew about what Jake was going thru could not be repeated. To anyone. School wasn't a refuge either; I just had Billy call in sick for me. I sat in my room, the only place I had left. I lay in bed in my pajamas, refusing food, refusing to talk, getting up only to go to the bathroom, make Billy dinner, and to take a shower. I would sleep. I would lay and read. Jane Austin, William Shakespeare, and J.R.R. Tolkien…any and every book I owned. I stared; at walls, at the ceiling, at my pillow, at my fake rose that still stood beautifully in its vase. I cried. Tears falling in rushes, falling on my hands, staining my pillow case…And I wrote. I wrote song after song after song. I would grab my guitar, strum and sing; pull my keyboard up to my bed, a Christmas gift from Charlie, and I would play.

This routine went on for two weeks. I lost about 10 pounds and was so weak that I couldn't even get up anymore. Billy had to call Sam to come and lift me into his truck so he could drive me to the hospital in Port Angeles. I spent about three days there, being fed nutrients through an IV in my arm. The morning of the third day Sam came to visit. His face was kind, understanding. Something I didn't expect to see when I looked into his eyes as he approached my bed, grabbing a stool and wheeling it over so he could sit beside me.

"How are ya holding up kid?" he said, smiling. "You look better. You're getting some color back in your cheeks." He put his hand on my forehead and brushed my bangs away from my face. It was a kind, brotherly gesture.

"I'm fine." I said, my bottom lip quivering slightly. "Why?" I asked, turning my head to face him, my tears almost brimming over.

"Why what?" he said confused.

I quickly looked around to make sure no one was listening. Slowly I met his gaze. "Why am I afraid of someone I love? The one person who knows me best? My best friend…" I let a short sob escape my throat. "But I'm not afraid of you. But you and Jake are both…." I drifted off. Not wanting to say the words.

"I don't know Shelbie." Sam said. "I guess it's just 'cause you don't understand it. You thought you knew every part of him already…and when that started changing it frightened you. When you first met me you knew that being a Protector was a part of me. You just don't know what to think about Jacob right now…" he looked into my eyes, like he was trying to make me see; make me understand what was happening.

"He's still Jake." He finally said. He stood, put the char back in its proper spot and walked back over to me.

He reached down and grabbed my hand, the warmth of his skin startled me, but I didn't flinch away. He looked at our hands for a while, probably thinking of what to say. I looked at them too. Our skin tone almost matched, a russet tone; his with just a touch more red, mine more olive. My hand looked so small in his, a child's hand in comparison, the way it looked when I held Jake's hand.

Finally he looked up at me. "Jake can't help what he is. He can't help who his ancestors were. If you look past all that, you'll see how he hasn't changed at all. You don't know much he has been hurting and struggling. Not because of what he is….but the fact that what he is has been hurting you. Give him a chance. You'll see." He smiled, gave my hand a quick squeeze and turned to walk away.

That next morning they released me from the hospital and Billy sent Sam to pick me up…or so I thought.

While I signed everything that needed my John Hancock I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. Thinking it was Sam I waited to face him until I was done signing the last page. Smiling at the secretary I handed her the papers and said a friendly good-bye. When I turned around my heart sped up like it was in the Indy 500. Jacob stood in front of me…but it wasn't my Jacob that I was looking at. His beautiful hair, usually tied in a ponytail at the base of his neck, was cut off. The hair that was left was about a centimeter long. He had grown about another foot it seemed, he no longer was tall and skinny, he had filled out with muscle. His face was sort of the same, a harder, more severe jaw line than what I was used to. The look in eyes startled me though…he had never looked at me like that before. Like he'd been blind and was now seeing the light. It was almost like he had never seen me at all, until this moment. He was still devilishly handsome; especially when he smiled at me how he did in that moment. He was different, but he _was_ My Jake.

"Jacob?" I stuttered, a dumb question, I knew it was him.

"Hey hun." He smiled at me. "Get in." he chuckled.

I looked down at the wheelchair he had pushed over to where I was standing. "It's hospital policy." The secretary said behind me.

"Oh. Ok." I breathed; turning and sitting down in the chair.

Jake smiled at the secretary and wheeled me to the truck. All the while I was waiting for the fear to catch up with me, waiting for panic to take over…but it never did. It was like nothing had happened at all, it was all a dream. It was just me and Jacob, my boyfriend, the love of my life. I reached back to find his hand on the handle of the wheelchair. When my fingertips found his skin, it was electric; the warmth of his skin was comforting. I closed my eyes and smiled, letting the tears run down my face. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have ever been afraid…when where I needed to be was right here with him?

He stopped in front of the truck and put the breaks on the chair. I stood, turned around and looked at him. We both froze. Then I jumped up so I could put my arms around his neck. He crushed me to him, his hold on me tight but somehow not tight enough. We didn't need to say anything; all that we needed to say was in the silence we shared in this moment: my apologies, his forgiveness; my love for him, his for me. He wiped the tears from my face and helped me get in the truck.

I sat in the passenger seat, his hand on my lap. I gently drew circles on the back of his hand, all the while unable to look away from his face, committing it to memory.

"I missed you so much." I cried.

"I know I missed you too." He raised our entwined hands and kissed the back of mine. "Thank you so much Shelbie." He whispered. His hot breath raising goose bumps on my arms.

"For what?" I asked.

"For still loving me." He smiled.

* * *

The sound of whistling and laughter brought me to the present. We had made it up the hill; everyone was already here by the looks of it. Quill was standing up, flapping his arms around; telling a funny story by the looks of it.

"Don't fall in the fire Quill." Jake smiled.

"Oh you know I'd be fine in the morning." Quill winked.

"What does-" I started to ask Jake.

"It will all be explained tonight." He smiled down at me and kissed my forehead. "Let's sit over here." He dragged me over to sit on a piece of drift wood. I took my jacket off. Even though it was extremely windy on top of the cliffs the fire was warm and Jake was my built in heater. I snuggled closer to him, absorbing his warmth. I looked at all the faces in the circle, there were only a few "elders" in the circle…Billy, Old Quill and another elderly man. The rest of us were all teenagers. A sudden hush came over us all; Billy cleared his throat and began the tale…the legends that told the story of the Protectors of the werewolves. I instinctively moved closer to Jake as Billy's voice filled the silence. Each of the Elders told a story, a legend. It all made sense. I finally understood everything that had been going on, understood the weight of the secret I now carried.

Billy turned to me, his eyes holding my gaze. He was not the only one…everyone was looking at me, holding their breath it seemed. Their silence was louder than if they had all been shouting. Billy was the first to break the silence.

"Shelbie, you know now that you cannot tell anyone what you know. Now…you know what the Cullen's are."

"You cannot spend time with Bella any longer." Old Quill's shaky voice sounded harsh. "As long as she is around those leeches you are in danger."

I turned to Jacob. "I don't feel good about this Jake." I looked pleadingly into his gorgeous eyes. "I can't just stop being friends with Bella."

"You have to." Billy answered. "You need to be safe. We've all told you about what kind of _people_," he spat the word, "she is around. We don't want you to be in danger."

I looked at the faces around the bon fire. Quill, Emery, Paul, Seth, Sam, Emily. All sat waiting for my answer.

"But I've been around the Cullen's before. I've seen them all around Bella and me. Nothing bad has happened…" I drifted off thinking of the night in Seattle, the bruises left when Edward had grabbed me out of the path of the truck…but he had saved me…

"Shelbie I know it's hard, but this is what you have to do. It's for the safety of the tribe." Sam said.

My pride got the best of me…I could feel my eyes prickling with the first sign of tears to be shed. I quickly got up and walked away from the circle, starting down the road to the truck that Jake and I had road up in. behind me I heard bits of the conversation.

"She's her really good friend, of course it's hard."

"But she has a new family now."

I couldn't tell who said it. I didn't care. The tears flowed and I wiped them away. Soon I could hear the slight shuffling of stones shifting under feet as Jake ran down the road to catch up with me.

"Shelbie! Wait!" Jake said, quickly catching up to me. He grabbed my arm to turn me around. In his hand he held my coat.

Realizing for the first time that I was cold I quickly grabbed it, put it on and kept heading for the car; that was when the rain started pouring down on me from above.

"Shelbie, please just wait!" Jake was easily keeping pace with me…damn him and his long legs!

"Just leave me alone Jake! Just stay away!" The truck was in my reach, my finger-tips on its handle. I wrenched open the door and was about to get in when Jake's warm hand grabbed my arm and spun me around.

"I can't do that Shelbie," The rain drops ran down his nose, down his cheeks to the end of his chin where they dripped down to the gravel under our feet. "I can't ever leave you alone." He places his huge hands on both sides of my face. "You're my life. I can't just stay away. I need to know that you're safe, that you're happy. I need you. Don't you see? I loved you before, but now it's even more than that, you're a part of me, and always will be…" His lips softly kissed mine, not demanding, not eager…but loving, tender. He let his hands fall from my face, took both my hands in his and placed them over his heart. "You have my heart: now and forever. Shelbie, when our eyes met in the hospital, it was like I had never really looked at you before. It was like a veil was lifted and I could see again. I imprinted. On _you_. I can't just leave you. I can't just stay away…I was meant to follow you forever."

My mouth hung open in shock. Soon I realized that not only rain ran down my face; tears, tears of joy began to flow. "Jake…" I mumbled. "I would gladly follow you anywhere, go anywhere you want to. And I will. But this is just so hard!" Sobbing, I put my head on his chest, breathing in the scent of him.

"I know I know…" he whispered.

"No, Jake, I'm sorry but you don't. I'm going to lose a friend, my best friend, to protect a tribe that isn't even mine!" I cried. "I've been with the Cullen's; I know that they aren't bad…" I mumbled, tears making it hard to see.

"But I won't take that risk Shelbie. I can't put you in harms way like that. You have to do this honey. You're losing a friend, yes. But you're gaining a family."

His words struck a chord. Back at my parents house it was barely a home. It was so _hard_ to live there…not like at Billy's, at Billy's it was as easy as breathing. But I could say the same thing about Bella's house too….

"Ok. I'll do it." My voice was empty, "Tomorrow night. I'll do it."

* * *

The Next Day

Jake and I sat snuggling on the too small couch watching TV…nothing really interested me, I flicked thru channel after channel after channel….until Jake took the remote anyway.

"Hey…" he said turning the TV off. "I know this is hard, and I wish I could be there with you…but Sam has got us running crazy shifts, and his word is law…"

"I know…" I traced the outline of the dark circles under his eyes which were looking too permanent. "I just don't feel right about this." I said bitterly. No words could explain the remorse, pain and general awfulness I felt about the whole situation.

Jacob gave an apologetic smile and kissed my forehead before sighing. I followed his gaze out the window, it was twilight…it was time for him to go running. Time for me to break the heart of the best girl friend I'd ever had. For the thousandth time that day I felt the tears stinging my eyes.

Jake hugged me tightly to him, "Don't cry love." He whispered, "You'll be coming home…to family."

A loud howling started up just outside of the house, shaking the windows. Jake sighed heavily again before kissing me and going out the door.

I sat there alone and in silence for a couple beats before Billy rolled into the room.

"You ready to go kid?" he asked.

"No." I mumbled. "But ready enough." With that I grabbed my coat and Billy and I headed out for Bella's.

* * *

I sat on the stairs, trying to hide, wanting to be seen; wanting to yell, wanting to stay quiet; wanting to run, wanting to stay. But mostly I sat and cried. Cried and listened.

"Shelbie's moving in with us for good!" Billy yelled.

"That's not happening Bill. I made promises to her mother! The report cards are sent here, the notices of her _week_ not attending school, even though she said that's where she was going. I let her stay at your house because I knew she would go to school, and I knew that I could rely on you, Billy, _you _to send her there!" Charlie yelled right back.

Suddenly I noticed that Bella was staring at me. Not knowing what else to do I ran up the stairs to finish my packing. I knew she would follow, but I was still startled when Bella's voice came from behind me following a small knock on the door. "So what's really going on Shelb?" She asked.

That's when I broke. My pride shattered and dropped on the floor like the tears I now shed. My body shook with the conviction of my sorrow. I could barely see the open, half-filled suitcase in front of me. How could she act so stupid, how could she not see…

"Oh, you know why Bella. You know." I sobbed.

I heard he clumsy shuffle as she moved closer to me…to comfort to apologize…I never gave her the chance to explain her action. I needed to be strong; I needed to make this a clean break. That way it was easier for both of us. I needed to do this for Jake. So I did a terrible, appalling thing. The last thing I really ever wanted to do. I pushed Bella off of me.

"Don't, Bella. Not now, I can't talk to you ever again, see you ever again," I walked to the door and leaned against it, having it hold me up just when my grief and sham came crashing down on me, making it hard to stand, "be friends _ever_ again."

"What are you talking about?" Bella said. Her confused whisper was like a slap to the face. Why was she making this so hard? Why wasn't she just letting me go?

"I want to be your friend! But because of what _he is_ we can't. We can't." I yelled, shaking my head.

"Who's he?" she asked in shock. As if she didn't know.

"Edward." I said in a harsh whisper.

Her face was at first full of shock, then a mask of utter horror. She really didn't think that I knew…that anyone knew. If she could figure it out why be surprised if someone else did too?

I moved past her back to my suitcase, packing as quickly as I could. I had to leave, I had to get out. I couldn't stand to see her face…or the expression of hurt and fear that I had put on it. I zipped the bag closed and moved to go down the stairs.

"Shelbie-" Bella choked out. My steps faltered for half a second, but I couldn't lose focus now…I stared strait ahead, not seeing anything.

I heard her slow soft steps behind me but I never looked back. I put the bag on Billy's lap, grabbed the handles on his wheelchair and barely noticed that Charlie was helping me get him down the stairs. Throwing the bag in the back of the truck and helping Billy into the passenger side I got into the driver's seat. It was then that I let myself look at the house that had been "home" to me. Charlie stood on the steps just staring. Bella was behind him, her face one of pain now, a look tasting strongly of betrayal.

"We need to be going now _awasis_." Billy whispered kindly.

Wiping my eyes and nose on my sleeve I slowly took a deep breath and turned the key in the ignition.

* * *

I sat in my room for along while crying into my pillow when a loud howling started up again. It was different this time, pain making the sound like a sharp razor. I sat up bolt strait on the bed and then I wrenched the door open and met Billy's worried eyes in the kitchen. Somehow the howling was getting louder. As I listened I heard the howls turn into shouts and words; words and phrases I usually would only hear at a truck stop. I ran out the front door, looking around the edges of the forest, looking for the boys.

Then I saw six bodies moving through the trees. One boy was being held by two others, obviously the source of all the explicatives. As they saw me a few of them struggled to put on their pants, but I didn't care. I just looked at their faces. Looking for my Jake. From this far away I couldn't tell who was who, they all looked so much alike…

I started to run towards them, trying to see what I could do to help. One of them left the group and came running towards me too. From the way he held himself and how he ran I knew exactly who it was.

I jumped into Jakes open arms, it felt so good to know that he wasn't hurt, that he was alright.

"I'm fine it's ok." He crooned into my ear. It took me a moment to realize that I was sobbing slightly.

"Who's hurt?" I blubbered.

"Quill. I'll explain more once we're inside…there is something weird going on around here…" He frowned, his eyebrows pulling together.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There's a beast in the forest. A monster." He whispered gravely.


End file.
